GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stock Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,304 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after buying an additional 134 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 143.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In other FedEx news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total transaction of $794,763.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $140,507.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total value of $794,763.39. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $140,507.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773. 8.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FDX shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on FedEx from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on FedEx from $293.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.92.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of FDX stock opened at $248.09 on Thursday. FedEx Co. has a 12-month low of $223.24 and a 12-month high of $291.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $256.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 17.76 EPS for the current year.

FedEx announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the shipping service provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is a positive change from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 24th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

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.