South Dakota Investment Council Buys 20,337 Shares of FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)

South Dakota Investment Council increased its position in FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) by 38.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,690 shares of the shipping service provider's stock after buying an additional 20,337 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in FedEx were worth $17,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter worth about $807,352,000. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of FedEx by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,889,624 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $3,907,568,000 after purchasing an additional 734,268 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of FedEx by 18,202.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 545,586 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $133,003,000 after purchasing an additional 542,605 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at about $145,733,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in FedEx by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,298,646 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $1,209,338,000 after acquiring an additional 323,115 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In related news, Director R Brad Martin sold 2,123 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.75, for a total transaction of $513,235.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,160,036.25. This trade represents a 19.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul S. Walsh sold 3,610 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $860,226.90. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,696,592.77. This represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,343 shares of company stock valued at $2,228,816 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.87% of the company's stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

NYSE:FDX traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $226.64. 1,776,796 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,856,788. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.17. FedEx Corporation has a 52 week low of $194.30 and a 52 week high of $308.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

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

FedEx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 23rd. This is a boost from FedEx's previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. FedEx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FDX shares. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $259.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on FedEx from $311.00 to $297.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded FedEx from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on FedEx from $282.00 to $249.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.25.

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.