Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,475 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $1,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in FedEx by 143.2% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in FedEx by 123.3% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 134 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total value of $102,373.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,223,600.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other FedEx news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total value of $102,373.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 11,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,223,600.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 1,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total value of $368,668.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,542,999.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

FedEx Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of FDX opened at $270.15 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $66.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. FedEx Co. has a 1 year low of $213.80 and a 1 year high of $291.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.18.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.37. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The firm 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 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the shipping service provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FDX shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of FedEx from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Melius Research upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on FedEx from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.33.

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.