Consolidated Planning Corp Raises Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Consolidated Planning Corp increased its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,243 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp’s holdings in FedEx were worth $4,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in FedEx by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,729,110 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $4,961,716,000 after acquiring an additional 59,161 shares during the period. Sentry LLC purchased a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,811,748,000. FMR LLC grew its position in FedEx by 29.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,063,938 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,076,619,000 after acquiring an additional 916,555 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in FedEx by 1.1% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,238,185 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $857,860,000 after acquiring an additional 35,085 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in FedEx by 13.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,004,838 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $796,042,000 after acquiring an additional 360,680 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total transaction of $703,009.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,735,192.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773 over the last quarter. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on FedEx from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Melius upgraded FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Bank of America lowered their price target on FedEx from $346.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.33.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of FDX stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $265.84. 958,876 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,517,622. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $262.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $254.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.21. FedEx Co. has a 12-month low of $213.80 and a 12-month high of $291.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.31.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 17.69 EPS for the current year.

FedEx announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

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.