MetLife Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,619 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 1,768 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $16,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of FedEx by 6.4% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 45,909 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $12,564,000 after buying an additional 2,767 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,226,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of FedEx by 6.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 485,698 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $132,926,000 after acquiring an additional 31,241 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the second quarter valued at approximately $22,052,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in FedEx during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,096,000. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FDX opened at $303.41 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $276.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.42. FedEx Co. has a 52-week low of $234.45 and a 52-week high of $313.84. The company has a market cap of $74.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.28.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The shipping service provider reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.82 by ($1.22). The firm had revenue of $21.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 4.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on FDX. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on FedEx from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of FedEx from $334.00 to $328.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded shares of FedEx from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $316.04.

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.