Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Increases Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 17.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,489 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $5,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of FedEx by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in FedEx in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Security National Bank purchased a new stake in FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in FedEx by 175.9% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 149 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In related news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,634,640.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other FedEx news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,884 shares in the company, valued at $17,634,640.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brie Carere sold 1,958 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were 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 approximately $6,189,042.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,944 shares of company stock worth $9,882,355 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FDX. Argus lifted their price objective on FedEx from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of FedEx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of FedEx from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $312.84.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of FDX stock opened at $254.63 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $292.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $274.85. The firm has a market cap of $62.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.17. FedEx Co. has a 1-year low of $224.69 and a 1-year high of $313.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The shipping service provider reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by ($1.22). FedEx had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 4.94%. The firm had revenue of $21.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 20.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 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.