IFP Advisors Inc Boosts Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,773 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after buying an additional 652 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in FedEx were worth $1,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FDX. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of FedEx by 22,317.0% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 322,580 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $90,751,000 after buying an additional 321,141 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in FedEx by 197.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 341,390 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $96,043,000 after purchasing an additional 226,608 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in FedEx by 2,163.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 192,441 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $52,667,000 after purchasing an additional 183,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth $49,445,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of FDX opened at $256.31 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $61.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $269.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.80. FedEx Co. has a 12-month low of $239.07 and a 12-month high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.14 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on FDX shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of FedEx from $311.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James downgraded shares of FedEx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of FedEx from $368.00 to $364.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $321.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.