LPL Financial LLC Purchases 36,911 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 330,064 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,911 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $92,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,689,791 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,281,335,000 after buying an additional 67,502 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in FedEx by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,975,531 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,042,050,000 after purchasing an additional 314,380 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in FedEx by 0.7% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,699,179 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $465,031,000 after buying an additional 11,100 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,500,736 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $422,202,000 after acquiring an additional 49,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry LLC grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Sentry LLC now owns 1,217,117 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $342,412,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John W. Dietrich acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $273.98 per share, with a total value of $273,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,484,176.66. This trade represents a 12.40 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy B. Lane acquired 333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $276.06 per share, for a total transaction of $91,927.98. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,927.98. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

FedEx Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:FDX opened at $241.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $58.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $258.58 and a 200 day moving average of $271.75. FedEx Co. has a 1-year low of $217.22 and a 1-year high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.56 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $22.16 billion for 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%. FedEx’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FDX. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on FedEx from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on FedEx from $350.00 to $331.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BNP Paribas raised FedEx from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on FedEx from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FedEx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.60.

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.