Buffington Mohr McNeal Buys 753 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Buffington Mohr McNeal increased its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 30.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,262 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the period. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in FedEx were worth $945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FDX. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in FedEx by 143.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FedEx news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,634,640.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,884 shares in the company, valued at $17,634,640.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,820 shares of company stock valued at $37,639,038 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FDX shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Argus increased their target price on FedEx from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up previously from $303.00) on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of FedEx from $340.00 to $333.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, FedEx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.00.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of FedEx stock traded down $0.46 on Tuesday, reaching $298.22. 1,831,186 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,956,106. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $224.69 and a twelve month high of $302.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $258.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $256.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.18.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $22.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.94 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 20.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the shipping service provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 24th. This is a boost from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. FedEx’s payout ratio is 32.04%.

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.