Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 1,747 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,783 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in FedEx were worth $8,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 473.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784,691 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,147,540,000 after acquiring an additional 647,926 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in FedEx by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,975,531 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,042,050,000 after purchasing an additional 314,380 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in FedEx by 197.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 341,390 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $96,043,000 after purchasing an additional 226,608 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in FedEx by 2,163.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 192,441 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $52,667,000 after buying an additional 183,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter worth $49,445,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other FedEx news, EVP John W. Dietrich acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $273.98 per share, for a total transaction of $273,980.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 9,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,484,176.66. This represents a 12.40 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.45, for a total transaction of $1,100,271.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,904 shares in the company, valued at $2,461,510.80. This trade represents a 30.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

FedEx Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE FDX opened at $256.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $61.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $280.86. FedEx Co. has a 12-month low of $234.45 and a 12-month high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.17. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The company had revenue of $22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is 35.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FDX has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded FedEx from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on FedEx from $301.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Loop Capital cut FedEx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $365.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $368.00 to $364.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $321.87.

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.