Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Invests $9.73 Million in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 34,578 shares of the shipping service provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,728,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Peoples Financial Services CORP. acquired a new stake in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 23,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,686,161.85. This represents a 20.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 8.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

FedEx Stock Down 0.1%

FDX stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $231.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,441,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,802,373. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $55.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G 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. The company's 50 day moving average is $223.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.28.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last released 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). The business had revenue of $22.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.96 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The business's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. FedEx's payout ratio is currently 34.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FDX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on FedEx from $260.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of FedEx from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $300.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. BNP Paribas raised shares of FedEx from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of FedEx from $272.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on shares of FedEx from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $297.63.

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.