Hills Bank & Trust Co Buys 763 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 54.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,161 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in FedEx were worth $608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of FedEx by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. bought a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FedEx Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of FedEx stock opened at $242.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $263.04 and a 200 day moving average of $274.37. FedEx Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.50 and a fifty-two week high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.17. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The business had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In other FedEx news, EVP John W. Dietrich purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $273.98 per share, with a total value of $273,980.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 9,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,484,176.66. The trade was a 12.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amy B. Lane purchased 333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $276.06 per share, with a total value of $91,927.98. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 333 shares in the company, valued at $91,927.98. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on FedEx from $372.00 to $323.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Stephens lowered their price objective on FedEx from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on FedEx from $328.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of FedEx from $320.00 to $275.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.04.

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.