Empirical Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 175,756 FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 175,756 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $49,445,000. FedEx accounts for approximately 1.4% of Empirical Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cvfg LLC acquired a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth $482,000. Edge Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth $249,000. Sanders Morris Harris LLC raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC now owns 3,760 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,057,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,183 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of FDX opened at $277.23 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $283.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.25. FedEx Co. has a 52-week low of $234.45 and a 52-week high of $313.84. The firm has a market cap of $66.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.17. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. The company had revenue of $22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.99 EPS. FedEx’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 19.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 35.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of FedEx from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of FedEx from $301.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of FedEx from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Loop Capital raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $288.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of FedEx from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.61.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.45, for a total transaction of $1,100,271.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,461,510.80. This represents a 30.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy B. Lane purchased 333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $276.06 per share, for a total transaction of $91,927.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,927.98. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

FedEx 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.