Empirical Asset Management LLC Makes New $49.45 Million Investment in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 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 holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Empirical Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of FedEx as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in FedEx by 144.4% in the fourth 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. Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in FedEx by 72.7% in the third quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of FedEx by 177.5% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 111 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FedEx Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of FDX stock traded down $1.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $275.59. The company had a trading volume of 809,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,437,474. The company's fifty day moving average is $283.82 and its 200 day moving average is $284.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.19. FedEx Co. has a fifty-two week low of $234.45 and a fifty-two week high of $313.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.20.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.99 EPS. Research analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 19.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. FedEx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of FedEx from $328.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of FedEx from $333.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Friday, September 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 report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of FedEx from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $325.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John W. Dietrich bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $273.98 per share, with a total value of $273,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,067 shares in the company, valued at $2,484,176.66. This trade represents a 12.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were 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 directly owns 8,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,461,510.80. The trade was a 30.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.