Raymond James & Associates Reduces Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 457,518 shares of the shipping service provider's stock after selling 66,564 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.19% of FedEx worth $132,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FDX. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of FedEx by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in shares of FedEx by 143.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FedEx Stock Performance

FedEx stock traded down $4.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $261.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 853,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,999,098. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $213.80 and a twelve month high of $291.27. The firm has a market cap of $64.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a PEG 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $263.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.72.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the company posted $3.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 17.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the shipping service provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. FedEx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total value of $794,763.39. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 486 shares of the company's stock, valued at $140,507.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total value of $794,763.39. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 486 shares of the company's stock, valued at $140,507.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FDX shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of FedEx from $293.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of FedEx from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of FedEx from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $301.33.

About FedEx

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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