Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 151 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,962 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in FedEx by 143.2% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of FedEx by 123.3% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 134 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of FDX opened at $259.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.23. FedEx Co. has a 52 week low of $213.80 and a 52 week high of $291.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $265.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $255.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.31.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. FedEx’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.41 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 17.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on FDX. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In other FedEx news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total transaction of $703,009.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,294 shares in the company, valued at $1,735,192.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

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.