Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,835 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $4,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,028,000. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC increased its stake in FedEx by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 852,767 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $239,909,000 after acquiring an additional 329,170 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its stake in FedEx by 22,317.0% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 322,580 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $90,751,000 after acquiring an additional 321,141 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in FedEx by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,975,531 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,042,050,000 after acquiring an additional 314,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in FedEx by 197.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 341,390 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $96,043,000 after acquiring an additional 226,608 shares during the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.45, for a total transaction of $1,100,271.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,904 shares in the company, valued at $2,461,510.80. This represents a 30.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Amy B. Lane acquired 333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $276.06 per share, with a total value of $91,927.98. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 333 shares in the company, valued at $91,927.98. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FDX has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on FedEx from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on FedEx from $311.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $337.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on FedEx from $320.00 to $275.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.04.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of FDX stock opened at $242.27 on Friday. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $239.50 and a twelve month high of $313.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.17. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. The business had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is 35.18%.

FedEx 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.