Sentry LLC Acquires New Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Sentry LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 7,161,909 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,811,748,000. FedEx makes up 91.7% of Sentry LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in FedEx by 143.2% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in FedEx by 123.3% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 134 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on FDX. Melius raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $346.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $293.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, FedEx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total value of $794,763.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 486 shares in the company, valued at $140,507.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total transaction of $794,763.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 486 shares in the company, valued at $140,507.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773 over the last 90 days. 8.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

FedEx Trading Up 1.4 %

FDX stock traded up $3.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $270.66. 688,691 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,064,255. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.10. FedEx Co. has a 12-month low of $213.80 and a 12-month high of $291.27.

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

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

FedEx declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the shipping service provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

FedEx Profile

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.