Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 6,717 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) by 71.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,683 shares of the shipping service provider's stock after selling 6,717 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in FedEx were worth $754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in FedEx by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,199,506 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $5,682,727,000 after acquiring an additional 56,236 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its position in FedEx by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,889,624 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $3,907,568,000 after acquiring an additional 734,268 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in FedEx by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,798,797 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $1,350,686,000 after buying an additional 109,006 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of FedEx by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,298,646 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $1,209,338,000 after purchasing an additional 323,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,221,004 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $906,165,000 after buying an additional 127,044 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FDX opened at $221.08 on Wednesday. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $222.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $255.83. The firm has a market cap of $52.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.36. FedEx Co. has a one year low of $194.30 and a one year high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $21.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.86 EPS. FedEx's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In other news, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 20.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 8.87% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on FDX shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on FedEx from $260.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on FedEx from $305.00 to $267.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised FedEx from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. TD Cowen dropped their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of FedEx from $272.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $297.00.

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.

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