Stephens Inc. AR Has $14.73 Million Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,353 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 13,908 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in FedEx were worth $14,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FDX. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 473.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784,691 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,147,540,000 after buying an additional 647,926 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in FedEx by 8.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 314,380 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in FedEx by 197.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 341,390 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $96,043,000 after acquiring an additional 226,608 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 2,163.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 192,441 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $52,667,000 after acquiring an additional 183,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter worth $49,445,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FedEx Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE FDX opened at $256.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $274.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $280.50. FedEx Co. has a 12 month low of $234.45 and a 12 month high of $313.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.18.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.17. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The company had revenue of $22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on FedEx from $325.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on FedEx from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on FedEx from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded shares of FedEx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $365.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $321.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy B. Lane acquired 333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $276.06 per share, with a total value of $91,927.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,927.98. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,984,589.98. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.