D.B. Root & Company LLC Buys New Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 775 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 143.2% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other FedEx news, Director Paul S. Walsh sold 2,535 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.72, for a total value of $747,115.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,345,646.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other FedEx news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total transaction of $368,668.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,542,999.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul S. Walsh sold 2,535 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.72, for a total transaction of $747,115.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,345,646.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 119,810 shares of company stock worth $32,924,413 over the last quarter. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of FDX opened at $299.84 on Monday. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $224.69 and a twelve month high of $302.41. The company has a market capitalization of $73.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $258.10 and a 200 day moving average of $256.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.34 by $0.07. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 4.94%. The firm had revenue of $22.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 20.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the shipping service provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 24th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is a boost from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 32.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FDX shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on FedEx from $316.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of FedEx from $351.00 to $318.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up from $303.00) on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.00.

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.