ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 48.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,461 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 1,387 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $411,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. purchased a new stake in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in FedEx in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Down 0.8 %

FDX stock opened at $275.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $66.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.20. FedEx Co. has a 1-year low of $234.45 and a 1-year high of $313.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $283.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $283.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 19.2 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FDX shares. Barclays increased their target price on FedEx from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on FedEx from $321.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $328.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of FedEx from $325.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total value of $713,371.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,984,589.98. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is 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.