Norges Bank Invests $807.35 Million in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,869,768 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $807,352,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of FedEx by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,199,506 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $5,682,727,000 after acquiring an additional 56,236 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 1.5% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 67,502 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of FedEx by 8.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,975,531 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,042,050,000 after buying an additional 314,380 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in FedEx by 0.7% in 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 buying an additional 11,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of FDX stock opened at $244.26 on Friday. FedEx Co. has a 52-week low of $217.22 and a 52-week high of $313.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $257.26 and its 200 day moving average is $271.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $58.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.56 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $22.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.96 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FedEx news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total value of $713,371.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,984,589.98. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.55, for a total transaction of $1,499,050.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 23,347 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,161.85. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,711 shares of company stock worth $3,312,693. Corporate insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of FedEx from $330.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Loop Capital cut shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $283.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Cfra Research raised FedEx to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. 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 objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on FedEx from $364.00 to $354.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.71.

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.