Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,783 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in FedEx were worth $8,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of FedEx by 473.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784,691 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,147,540,000 after buying an additional 647,926 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 314,380 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in FedEx by 197.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 341,390 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $96,043,000 after acquiring an additional 226,608 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in FedEx by 2,163.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 192,441 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $52,667,000 after purchasing an additional 183,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at $49,445,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FedEx Price Performance

NYSE:FDX opened at $256.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.18. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $275.52 and a 200 day moving average of $280.86. FedEx Co. has a 52-week low of $234.45 and a 52-week high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.14 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. FedEx’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy B. Lane acquired 333 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $276.06 per share, with a total value of $91,927.98. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,927.98. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John W. Dietrich purchased 1,000 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $273.98 per share, for a total transaction of $273,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,067 shares in the company, valued at $2,484,176.66. The trade was a 12.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on FedEx from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of FedEx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $337.00 to $316.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of FedEx from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on FedEx from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on FedEx from $328.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.87.

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.