FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Shares Acquired by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 68.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 139,538 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,803 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.06% of FedEx worth $39,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Cetera Trust Company N.A grew its stake in FedEx by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 7,925 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,365 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,916,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its position in FedEx by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 3,400 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc boosted its position in shares of FedEx by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc now owns 8,107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FedEx Stock Down 2.8 %

FedEx stock opened at $209.90 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $268.75. FedEx Co. has a one year low of $203.43 and a one year high of $313.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.23.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.96 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 34.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $1,499,050.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 23,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,686,161.85. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John W. Dietrich bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $273.98 per share, with a total value of $273,980.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,484,176.66. This represents a 12.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 12,711 shares of company stock worth $3,312,693 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FDX shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on FedEx from $295.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of FedEx from $330.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $364.00 to $354.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of FedEx in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $337.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $300.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $302.71.

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.