Northstar Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Northstar Group Inc. lowered its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 16.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,010 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Northstar Group Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FDX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth $807,352,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth $234,028,000. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of FedEx by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,889,624 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $3,907,568,000 after acquiring an additional 734,268 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of FedEx by 18,202.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 545,586 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $133,003,000 after acquiring an additional 542,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $145,733,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In related news, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.55, for a total transaction of $1,499,050.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 23,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,686,161.85. This trade represents a 20.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FDX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on FedEx in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $337.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on FedEx from $275.00 to $260.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Cfra Research upgraded FedEx to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on FedEx from $282.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.54.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of FDX opened at $223.95 on Monday. FedEx Co. has a 12 month low of $194.30 and a 12 month high of $313.84. The company has a market cap of $53.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $216.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $246.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $22.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be paid a $1.45 dividend. This is a boost from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.39%.

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.