Farther Finance Advisors LLC Raises Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 27.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,223 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of FedEx from $282.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $300.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of FedEx from $275.00 to $260.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of FedEx from $323.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FedEx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FedEx news, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.55, for a total value of $1,499,050.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 23,347 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,161.85. The trade was a 20.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 8.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

FedEx Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of FDX stock opened at $223.95 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $53.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $216.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $246.59. FedEx Co. has a 1 year low of $194.30 and a 1 year high of $313.84.

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

FedEx Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd will be issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. This is an increase from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.