Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 73.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 140,347 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 394,376 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of FedEx worth $39,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FDX. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of FedEx by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP. purchased a new stake in FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on FedEx from $295.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut FedEx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $337.00 to $316.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BNP Paribas raised shares of FedEx from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of FedEx from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.60.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In other FedEx news, Director Amy B. Lane acquired 333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $276.06 per share, for a total transaction of $91,927.98. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 333 shares in the company, valued at $91,927.98. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John W. Dietrich bought 1,000 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $273.98 per share, for a total transaction of $273,980.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 9,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,484,176.66. This trade represents a 12.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

FedEx Price Performance

FDX stock opened at $241.19 on Wednesday. FedEx Co. has a 52 week low of $217.22 and a 52 week high of $313.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.56 by ($0.05). FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. The company had revenue of $22.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 34.63%.

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.