Markel Group Inc. Boosts Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Markel Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,500 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,500 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc. owned 0.09% of FedEx worth $58,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Global View Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its stake in FedEx by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,729,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in FedEx by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC purchased a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $325,000. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in FedEx by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FDX shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of FedEx from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James downgraded shares of FedEx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of FedEx from $372.00 to $323.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $301.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In other FedEx news, EVP John W. Dietrich purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $273.98 per share, with a total value of $273,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,484,176.66. This represents a 12.40 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy B. Lane purchased 333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $276.06 per share, with a total value of $91,927.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 333 shares in the company, valued at $91,927.98. This trade represents a ∞ 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 corporate insiders.

FedEx Stock Down 3.0 %

FedEx stock opened at $246.40 on Tuesday. FedEx Co. has a fifty-two week low of $242.92 and a fifty-two week high of $313.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $265.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.74. The company has a market capitalization of $59.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.17. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The firm had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.18%.

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.