Xponance Inc. Grows Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,029 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,622 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $7,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in shares of FedEx by 142.0% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 12,442 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $3,147,000 after acquiring an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its stake in FedEx by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 2,403 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 185.5% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 12,206 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $3,088,000 after purchasing an additional 7,930 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,768 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $5,507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,929 shares during the period. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $253,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FedEx Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of FDX stock opened at $266.99 on Friday. FedEx Co. has a 1-year low of $213.80 and a 1-year high of $291.27. The firm has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $259.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $254.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.41 EPS. On average, analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 EPS for the current year.

FedEx declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the shipping service provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other FedEx news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,735,192.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773 over the last three months. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on FedEx from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on FedEx from $346.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.33.

About FedEx

FedEx Corporation provides transportation, e-commerce, and business services in the United States and internationally. It operates through FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services segments. The FedEx Express segment offers express transportation, small-package ground delivery, and freight transportation services; and time-critical transportation services.