Skylands Capital LLC Purchases 2,525 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Skylands Capital LLC lifted its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 56.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,975 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,525 shares during the quarter. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $1,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in FedEx by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 133,075 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $35,254,000 after purchasing an additional 13,197 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,655 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in FedEx by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 595,122 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $157,660,000 after acquiring an additional 13,642 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FDX traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $265.69. 394,272 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,008,040. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $213.80 and a twelve month high of $291.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $262.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The firm 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 firm posted $3.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 17.69 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FDX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of FedEx from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on FedEx from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $3,223,600.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773 over the last quarter. 8.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.