Kiltearn Partners LLP Cuts Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Kiltearn Partners LLP lessened its stake in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,300 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. FedEx makes up about 1.6% of Kiltearn Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Kiltearn Partners LLP’s holdings in FedEx were worth $9,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. purchased a new stake in FedEx in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In related news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total transaction of $713,371.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,886 shares in the company, valued at $30,984,589.98. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.45, for a total value of $1,100,271.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,461,510.80. This represents a 30.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,711 shares of company stock worth $3,312,693 in the last three months. 8.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $295.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of FedEx from $323.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of FedEx from $347.00 to $317.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays cut their price target on FedEx from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nineteen have assigned 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.

FedEx Stock Performance

FedEx stock opened at $244.26 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.36. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $217.22 and a twelve month high of $313.84. The company has a market capitalization of $58.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.56 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $22.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.96 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.86 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 34.63%.

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.