Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 255,953 shares of the shipping service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of FedEx worth $62,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FDX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $807,352,000. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,889,624 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $3,907,568,000 after buying an additional 734,268 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 18,202.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 545,586 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $133,003,000 after buying an additional 542,605 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth $145,733,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 323,115 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FDX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of FedEx from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $275.00 to $260.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $275.00) on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FedEx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.46.

FedEx Stock Up 0.7%

FDX stock opened at $240.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. FedEx Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $194.30 and a fifty-two week high of $313.84. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $222.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.18. The stock has a market cap of $57.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.35.

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

FedEx Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. This is a boost from FedEx's previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. FedEx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.36%.

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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