Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Stock Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,830 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $1,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the 1st quarter valued at $220,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 33,838 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $9,804,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Rockport Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $476,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 789 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its holdings in FedEx by 0.5% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 10,253 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,971,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Trading Up 1.4 %

FedEx stock traded up $4.24 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $302.52. 73,489 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,911,616. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $261.72. FedEx Co. has a fifty-two week low of $224.69 and a fifty-two week high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $22.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.04 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 4.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 20.94 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 24th were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 24th. This is a boost from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.04%.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In related news, CAO Guy M. Erwin II sold 116 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.24, for a total value of $34,711.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,293.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Guy M. Erwin II sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.24, for a total transaction of $34,711.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 930 shares in the company, valued at $278,293.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul S. Walsh sold 2,535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.72, for a total value of $747,115.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,345,646.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,944 shares of company stock worth $9,882,355. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FDX. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $327.00 price target (up previously from $303.00) on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on FedEx from $316.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.00.

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.