Grimes & Company Inc. Invests $222,000 in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Grimes & Company Inc. acquired a new position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 766 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FDX. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of FedEx by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FDX shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on FedEx from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on FedEx from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on FedEx from $340.00 to $333.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded FedEx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $296.00 to $359.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on FedEx from $340.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.00.

FedEx Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE FDX traded up $4.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $299.84. 4,278,920 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,248,979. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $73.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.36. FedEx Co. has a 52 week low of $224.69 and a 52 week high of $302.41.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.34 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $22.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.04 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 4.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 24th. This is a boost from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.04%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In other news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 1,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total value of $368,668.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,542,999.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,735,192.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 1,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total value of $368,668.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,542,999.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 119,810 shares of company stock valued at $32,924,413. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.