HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has decreased its holdings in FedEx by 5.4%, now owning approximately 0.12% of the company worth $72,598,000 after selling 16,955 shares.
• Wall Street analysts show a generally positive outlook for FedEx, with an average price target of $283.25 and a majority rating of "Moderate Buy".
• FedEx recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.45 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 34.36%.

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 297,799 shares of the shipping service provider's stock after selling 16,955 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.12% of FedEx worth $72,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its position in FedEx by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 3,615 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in FedEx by 2.6% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp increased its position in FedEx by 3.5% during the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 1,431 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benin Management CORP increased its position in FedEx by 0.3% during the first quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 16,198 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $3,949,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FedEx Trading Up 0.3%

FDX traded up $0.80 during trading on Thursday, hitting $231.30. 1,615,778 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,979,591. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.45. The firm has a market cap of $54.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.30. FedEx Corporation has a 1 year low of $194.29 and a 1 year high of $308.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.19.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The shipping service provider reported $6.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 4.65%. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that FedEx Corporation will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. FedEx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FDX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on FedEx from $282.00 to $249.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 13th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on FedEx from $310.00 to $269.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on FedEx from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded FedEx from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on FedEx from $259.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research 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, FedEx currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Marvin R. Ellison sold 3,610 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.94, for a total value of $855,353.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,829,176.80. This trade represents a 31.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director R Brad Martin sold 2,123 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.75, for a total value of $513,235.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,160,036.25. This represents a 19.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,343 shares of company stock worth $2,228,816. 8.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.