Appian Way Asset Management LP Acquires Shares of 5,700 FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Appian Way Asset Management LP bought a new stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,700 shares of the shipping service provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,604,000. FedEx comprises approximately 0.3% of Appian Way Asset Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at about $86,960,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at about $281,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its stake in FedEx by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 4,685 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at about $735,000. Finally, Gallo Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,153,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other FedEx news, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.55, for a total transaction of $1,499,050.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 23,347 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,161.85. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 8.87% of the company's stock.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of FDX traded up $9.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $219.66. 2,180,047 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,791,648. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $228.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $259.91. FedEx Co. has a 52-week low of $194.30 and a 52-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 company has a market cap of $52.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.36.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.56 by ($0.05). FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. The business had revenue of $22.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.86 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. FedEx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FDX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of FedEx from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. TD Cowen decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $260.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of FedEx from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on 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 issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $297.71.

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.