Brandes Investment Partners LP Sells 5,590 Shares of FedEx Corporation $FDX

Brandes Investment Partners LP reduced its position in FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 723,281 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 5,590 shares during the quarter. FedEx makes up about 1.6% of Brandes Investment Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned approximately 0.31% of FedEx worth $208,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of FedEx by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 24,876 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $7,186,000 after purchasing an additional 5,916 shares during the period. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of FedEx by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 223,597 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $64,588,000 after purchasing an additional 6,860 shares during the period. Stonebrook Private Inc. bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of FedEx by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 12,926 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $3,734,000 after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares during the period. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC grew its holdings in FedEx by 164.0% during the 4th quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 1,188,140 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $343,206,000 after buying an additional 738,122 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FedEx Trading Up 0.5%

FDX stock opened at $331.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $373.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.80. FedEx Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $172.88 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $79.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.28.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The shipping service provider reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.12 by $1.13. FedEx had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The firm had revenue of $24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.51 earnings per share. FedEx’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that FedEx Corporation will post 19.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.87%.

FedEx News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting FedEx this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FedEx pilots ratified a new contract after nearly five years of negotiations, ending a major labor dispute and reducing operational risk for the company. Reuters: FedEx pilots ratify new wage deal, union says
• Positive Sentiment: The new pilot agreement includes roughly a 40% wage increase, which signals labor stability and could help FedEx avoid future service disruptions tied to bargaining uncertainty. Seeking Alpha: FedEx pilots ratify new contract, secure 40% pay hike
• Positive Sentiment: FedEx updated its annual dividend after the FedEx Freight spin-off, including a 5% increase in the annual dividend rate, reinforcing capital-return support for shareholders. Business Wire: FedEx Corp. Board Declares Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: The company separately announced its quarterly dividend and a post-spin adjustment, which may be interpreted as a sign of management confidence in cash flow generation. Yahoo Finance: FedEx Updates Annual Dividend Following FedEx Freight Spin-Off
• Neutral Sentiment: FedEx also announced a new independent director and audit-oversight leadership, a governance update that is constructive but not likely a major near-term stock driver. TipRanks: FedEx Adds Independent Director to Lead Audit Oversight

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $457.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Evercore lowered shares of FedEx from an “outperform” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of FedEx from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of FedEx from $440.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In related news, EVP Kawal Preet sold 4,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.89, for a total value of $1,802,661.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,029,499.17. This trade represents a 30.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 5,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.00, for a total transaction of $2,138,355.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,704,022. This trade represents a 36.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,104 shares of company stock valued at $17,599,006. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About FedEx

FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) is a global logistics and courier company headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by Frederick W. Smith in 1971 and beginning operations in the early 1970s, the company pioneered overnight express shipping and has since expanded into a diversified portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and supply-chain services. FedEx operates an integrated air-and-ground network that moves parcels, freight and documents for businesses and consumers worldwide.

FedEx’s core operating segments include express parcel delivery via its FedEx Express division, domestic and residential parcel delivery through FedEx Ground, less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services, and logistics and supply-chain management solutions.