First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires 254 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,933 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $2,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sentry LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,811,748,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth $700,291,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,667,462 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,686,738,000 after buying an additional 880,894 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake in FedEx by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,893,781 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $732,040,000 after buying an additional 798,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in FedEx by 33,890.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 651,597 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $166,972,000 after acquiring an additional 649,680 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FedEx Stock Down 1.5 %

FDX opened at $293.71 on Friday. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $224.69 and a twelve month high of $302.41. The firm has a market cap of $72.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $260.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.36.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $22.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 20.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the shipping service provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 24th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 32.04%.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In related news, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,735,192.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,735,192.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,864 shares of company stock worth $37,677,934. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on FDX. Argus upped their price target on shares of FedEx from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America lifted their price target on FedEx from $340.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on FedEx from $351.00 to $318.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of FedEx from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.00.

FedEx Profile

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.