FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,298,646 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after buying an additional 323,115 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $1,209,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FDX. bLong Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $391,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx during the third quarter valued at $3,405,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $461,000. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of FedEx by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,329 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth about $26,855,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FDX. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on FedEx from $347.00 to $317.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of FedEx from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of FedEx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $337.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.71.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of FDX stock opened at $241.75 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $57.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $256.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.89. FedEx Co. has a 12 month low of $217.22 and a 12 month high of $313.84.

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

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In related news, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.55, for a total transaction of $1,499,050.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 23,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,686,161.85. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.45, for a total value of $1,100,271.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,461,510.80. The trade was a 30.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,711 shares of company stock worth $3,312,693 over the last three months. Insiders own 8.87% 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.