FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Stake Boosted by Cetera Trust Company N.A

Cetera Trust Company N.A increased its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,925 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. FedEx accounts for 1.4% of Cetera Trust Company N.A’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings in FedEx were worth $2,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in FedEx by 473.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784,691 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,147,540,000 after buying an additional 647,926 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FedEx by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,248,137 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $674,336,000 after acquiring an additional 578,350 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in FedEx by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,975,531 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,042,050,000 after purchasing an additional 314,380 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in FedEx by 2,163.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 192,441 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $52,667,000 after purchasing an additional 183,940 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter worth about $49,445,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FDX. Barclays lifted their price target on FedEx from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com raised FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on FedEx from $321.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of FedEx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $337.00 to $316.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of FedEx from $301.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.61.

FedEx Price Performance

FDX stock opened at $271.76 on Wednesday. FedEx Co. has a one year low of $234.45 and a one year high of $313.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $282.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.17. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The business had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 35.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy B. Lane acquired 333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $276.06 per share, for a total transaction of $91,927.98. Following the purchase, the director now owns 333 shares in the company, valued at $91,927.98. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total transaction of $713,371.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,984,589.98. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Company 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.