New Vernon Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

New Vernon Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) by 1,238.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,422 shares of the shipping service provider's stock after buying an additional 19,822 shares during the period. FedEx accounts for approximately 3.6% of New Vernon Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. New Vernon Investment Management LLC's holdings in FedEx were worth $6,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Peoples Financial Services CORP. bought a new position in FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FedEx news, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $5,686,161.85. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 8.87% of the company's stock.

FedEx Trading Down 1.3 %

FDX stock traded down $2.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $207.11. The stock had a trading volume of 370,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,220. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $231.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $49.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.24. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $194.30 and a twelve month high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $22.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.86 EPS. FedEx's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. FedEx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on FDX. TD Cowen cut their target price on FedEx from $337.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on FedEx from $323.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on FedEx from $330.00 to $275.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $337.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on FedEx from $305.00 to $267.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $297.71.

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.