Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stock Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 44.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,275 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,969 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in FedEx were worth $22,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in FedEx by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

NYSE FDX traded down $2.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $283.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,117,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,787,930. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $294.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.87. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $224.69 and a twelve month high of $313.84. 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 firm has a market cap of $69.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.17.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.34 by $0.07. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 4.94%. The firm had revenue of $22.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 20.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on FDX. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $327.00 price target (up previously from $303.00) on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of FedEx from $340.00 to $333.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.96.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In other FedEx news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,634,640.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Brie Carere sold 1,958 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.43, for a total value of $607,821.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,937 shares in the company, valued at $6,189,042.91. 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 stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.48, for a total value of $4,714,624.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 32,944 shares of company stock worth $9,882,355 in the last three months. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

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.