Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 975 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 8,610.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 166,972 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $42,239,000 after acquiring an additional 165,055 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,756 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $324,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,585 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PGGM Investments raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 7,290 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,844,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

NYSE:FDX opened at $297.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $289.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $268.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.18. FedEx Co. has a fifty-two week low of $224.69 and a fifty-two week high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.34 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $22.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.04 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 20.94 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, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 32.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $303.00) on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Argus upped their price target on shares of FedEx from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.48, for a total transaction of $4,714,624.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,884 shares in the company, valued at $17,634,640.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other FedEx news, Director Paul S. Walsh sold 2,535 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.72, for a total transaction of $747,115.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,345,646.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.48, for a total transaction of $4,714,624.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,634,640.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,944 shares of company stock worth $9,882,355. Insiders own 8.73% 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.