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

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,636 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,077 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $8,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of FedEx by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP. acquired a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In related news, EVP John W. Dietrich acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $273.98 per share, with a total value of $273,980.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.45, for a total transaction of $1,100,271.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on FDX shares. Raymond James cut shares of FedEx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $311.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $328.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $372.00 to $323.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.58.

FedEx Price Performance

FedEx stock opened at $242.92 on Wednesday. FedEx Co. has a 12 month low of $241.78 and a 12 month high of $313.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.17. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. The business had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.99 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict 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 paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

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.