FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Stake Lessened by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,053 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 1,150 shares during the period. FedEx accounts for approximately 1.6% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $5,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. bLong Financial LLC bought a new stake in FedEx during the fourth quarter worth about $391,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,405,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $461,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in FedEx by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,329 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at $26,855,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FDX. BNP Paribas upgraded FedEx from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of FedEx from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of FedEx from $320.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded FedEx to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FedEx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In related news, EVP John W. Dietrich bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $273.98 per share, with a total value of $273,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 9,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,484,176.66. The trade was a 12.40 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.55, for a total transaction of $1,499,050.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 23,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,686,161.85. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,711 shares of company stock valued at $3,312,693 in the last three months. 8.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

FedEx Stock Performance

FDX opened at $241.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $57.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. FedEx Co. has a 1-year low of $217.22 and a 1-year high of $313.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $256.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. The business had revenue of $22.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 34.63%.

FedEx Company 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.