Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Acquires 298 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,347 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $404,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in FedEx by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FedEx in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FDX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus lifted their price target on FedEx from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on FedEx in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $334.00 price target for the company. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of FedEx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $296.00 to $359.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.96.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In related news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 8,421 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.14, for a total transaction of $2,611,688.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,797,974.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other FedEx news, Director Paul S. Walsh sold 2,535 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.72, for a total transaction of $747,115.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,345,646.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 8,421 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.14, for a total transaction of $2,611,688.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,246 shares in the company, valued at $3,797,974.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,944 shares of company stock worth $9,882,355 over the last 90 days. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of FDX opened at $283.30 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $293.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.32. FedEx Co. has a 1-year low of $224.69 and a 1-year high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.34 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $22.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 4.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 20.82 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 32.04%.

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.