Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,798,797 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,006 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.99% of FedEx worth $1,350,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in FedEx by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on FDX. UBS Group dropped their price target on FedEx from $350.00 to $331.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of FedEx from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of FedEx from $337.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of FedEx from $323.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on shares of FedEx from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.71.

Insider Activity

In other FedEx news, EVP John W. Dietrich acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $273.98 per share, for a total transaction of $273,980.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,067 shares in the company, valued at $2,484,176.66. This trade represents a 12.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total value of $713,371.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,984,589.98. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,711 shares of company stock worth $3,312,693 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Price Performance

FDX stock opened at $241.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $57.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.23. FedEx Co. has a 1 year low of $217.22 and a 1 year high of $313.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $270.28.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.56 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $22.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.96 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.86 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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 Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 34.63%.

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.