Oak Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Oak Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,244 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 91 shares during the period. FedEx makes up approximately 2.1% of Oak Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Oak Asset Management LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $5,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FDX. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in FedEx in the third quarter worth $3,405,000. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 45,909 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $12,564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,767 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the 2nd quarter worth about $9,226,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in FedEx by 6.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 485,698 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $132,926,000 after buying an additional 31,241 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in FedEx by 52.2% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,563 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,846,000 after buying an additional 2,251 shares during the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FedEx Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE FDX opened at $274.46 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $283.85 and a 200-day moving average of $284.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.20. FedEx Co. has a 12 month low of $234.45 and a 12 month high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.14 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FDX. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of FedEx from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on FedEx from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on FedEx from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley downgraded FedEx from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on FedEx from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.61.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other FedEx news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total transaction of $713,371.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,886 shares in the company, valued at $30,984,589.98. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John W. Dietrich acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $273.98 per share, for a total transaction of $273,980.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 9,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,484,176.66. This trade represents a 12.40 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

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.