FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Shares Down 1.5%

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) shares dropped 1.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $267.54 and last traded at $268.11. Approximately 148,113 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 2,119,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on FedEx from $322.00 to $305.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of FedEx from $279.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Melius raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.33.

FedEx Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $256.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $65.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.21.

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. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other FedEx news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,735,192.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773 in the last ninety days. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in FedEx by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 143.2% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in FedEx during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

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.