Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,644 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 254,226 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 2,644 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of FedEx worth $71,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of FedEx by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its position in FedEx by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. acquired a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total transaction of $713,371.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,984,589.98. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.45, for a total value of $1,100,271.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,461,510.80. The trade was a 30.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

FedEx Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:FDX opened at $267.02 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $235.32 and a 52-week high of $313.84. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $271.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $278.45. The firm has a market cap of $64.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.18.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.14 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. FedEx’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FDX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of FedEx from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on FedEx from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens reduced their price target on FedEx from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on FedEx from $328.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on FedEx from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $321.87.

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.