FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Stock Price Down 0.7%

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) shares traded down 0.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $263.16 and last traded at $264.94. 1,421,134 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 2,349,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FDX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of FedEx from $322.00 to $305.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price objective on FedEx from $330.00 to $334.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Melius upgraded FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on FedEx from $293.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.33.

FedEx Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $65.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $257.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.05.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

FedEx declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other FedEx news, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares in the company, valued at $1,735,192.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,812,104 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $4,758,898,000 after acquiring an additional 82,994 shares during the last quarter. Sentry LLC bought a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth $1,811,748,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in FedEx by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,667,462 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,686,738,000 after buying an additional 880,894 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 29.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,063,938 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,076,619,000 after buying an additional 916,555 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of FedEx by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,412,956 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $591,124,000 after acquiring an additional 559,607 shares during the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.