PFG Investments LLC Buys 5,229 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) by 157.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,550 shares of the shipping service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,229 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC's holdings in FedEx were worth $2,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Sentry LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,811,748,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $700,291,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in FedEx in the third quarter valued at approximately $496,611,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in FedEx by 29.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,063,938 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $1,076,619,000 after purchasing an additional 916,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of FedEx by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,667,462 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $1,686,738,000 after acquiring an additional 880,894 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of FedEx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of FedEx from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FedEx currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $301.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total value of $1,769,882.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,265,277.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total transaction of $1,769,882.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,265,277.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

FedEx Price Performance

FedEx stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $265.84. The stock had a trading volume of 958,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,517,622. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm's 50 day moving average is $262.17 and its 200 day moving average is $254.48. FedEx Co. has a one year low of $213.80 and a one year high of $291.27.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.37. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.41 EPS. FedEx's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 17.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. FedEx's dividend payout ratio is 29.07%.

FedEx announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the shipping service provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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