Trust Co. of Vermont Acquires 208 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,727 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in FedEx were worth $690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FDX. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of FedEx by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FedEx during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in FedEx by 143.2% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other FedEx news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total transaction of $794,763.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $140,507.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FDX. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of FedEx from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of FedEx from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, FedEx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.92.

FedEx Price Performance

NYSE FDX traded up $0.87 on Monday, reaching $247.30. 103,290 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,786,859. FedEx Co. has a 12 month low of $223.24 and a 12 month high of $291.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $258.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $256.40. The stock has a market cap of $60.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 17.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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

FedEx Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. This is a boost from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 24th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.07%.

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.