Mezzasalma Advisors LLC Takes $217,000 Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Mezzasalma Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 750 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in FedEx by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,729,110 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $4,961,716,000 after acquiring an additional 59,161 shares in the last quarter. Sentry LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter worth about $1,811,748,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of FedEx by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,667,462 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,686,738,000 after purchasing an additional 880,894 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 1.1% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,238,185 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $857,860,000 after purchasing an additional 35,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC increased its stake in FedEx by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,893,781 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $732,040,000 after buying an additional 798,084 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In other news, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,735,192.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares in the company, valued at $1,735,192.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.48, for a total value of $4,714,624.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 135,864 shares of company stock worth $37,677,934 in the last three months. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on FDX shares. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Argus boosted their target price on FedEx from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on FedEx from $316.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of FedEx from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.00.

FedEx Stock Performance

FedEx stock traded down $4.51 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $293.71. 1,274,326 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,457,575. 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 stock has a market cap of $72.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.18. FedEx Co. has a 12-month low of $224.69 and a 12-month high of $302.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $259.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.75.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $22.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 4.94%. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 20.67 EPS for the current year.

FedEx announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the shipping service provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 24th. This is an increase from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.04%.

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.