Appaloosa LP Lowers Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Appaloosa LP cut its holdings in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 350,000 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the quarter. FedEx accounts for about 1.5% of Appaloosa LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Appaloosa LP’s holdings in FedEx were worth $98,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FDX. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in FedEx by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,689,791 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,281,335,000 after acquiring an additional 67,502 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in FedEx by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,975,531 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,042,050,000 after acquiring an additional 314,380 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in FedEx by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,699,179 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $465,031,000 after acquiring an additional 11,100 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in FedEx by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,500,736 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $422,202,000 after acquiring an additional 49,160 shares during the period. Finally, Sentry LLC boosted its holdings in FedEx by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Sentry LLC now owns 1,217,117 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $342,412,000 after acquiring an additional 5,404 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on FDX. TD Cowen raised their target price on FedEx from $328.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered FedEx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $337.00 to $316.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Raymond James lowered FedEx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on FedEx from $325.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on FedEx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $337.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FedEx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In related news, EVP John W. Dietrich bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $273.98 per share, for a total transaction of $273,980.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 9,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,484,176.66. This trade represents a 12.40 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy B. Lane purchased 333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $276.06 per share, for a total transaction of $91,927.98. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,927.98. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Trading Up 0.3 %

FDX opened at $243.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $58.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. FedEx Co. has a 52 week low of $239.50 and a 52 week high of $313.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $264.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 EPS 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 company had revenue of $22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

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 $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.18%.

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.