First Horizon Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,415 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 270 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $1,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in FedEx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in FedEx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FDX. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Melius Research raised FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 8th. Melius raised FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.33.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other FedEx news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was 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 directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total transaction of $1,769,882.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,277.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Price Performance

FDX stock opened at $260.65 on Friday. FedEx Co. has a 52-week low of $213.80 and a 52-week high of $291.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $263.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $254.81. The stock has a market cap of $64.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. FedEx’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 17.69 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

FedEx declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the shipping service provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

FedEx Company 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.