Baird Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,855 shares of the shipping service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,034 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in FedEx were worth $21,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also 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 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peoples Financial Services CORP. bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.55, for a total value of $1,499,050.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 23,347 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,161.85. This 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 available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.87% of the company's stock.

FedEx Stock Up 7.4%

NYSE:FDX traded up $16.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $233.97. 1,017,993 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,790,254. The company has a fifty day moving average of $224.70 and a 200 day moving average of $257.92. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $194.30 and a twelve month high of $313.84. The company has a market capitalization of $56.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.36. 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 (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The business had revenue of $22.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.86 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. FedEx's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on FedEx from $330.00 to $275.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on FedEx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $337.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on FedEx from $323.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of FedEx in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded FedEx from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.