Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Cuts Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,457 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 3,346 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in FedEx were worth $8,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of FedEx by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,729,110 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $4,961,716,000 after purchasing an additional 59,161 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in FedEx by 29.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,063,938 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,076,619,000 after buying an additional 916,555 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of FedEx by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,412,956 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $591,124,000 after acquiring an additional 559,607 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of FedEx by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,004,838 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $796,042,000 after acquiring an additional 360,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,356,109 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $624,180,000 after acquiring an additional 60,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In other FedEx news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total value of $102,373.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,223,600.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total transaction of $102,373.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,223,600.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773 in the last quarter. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FDX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on FedEx from $346.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of FedEx from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Melius raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.33.

FedEx Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE FDX traded up $3.62 on Friday, hitting $266.99. 1,894,373 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,131,599. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $259.22 and a 200 day moving average of $254.19. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $213.80 and a twelve month high of $291.27. The company has a market capitalization of $65.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.21.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.37. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

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.