Highland Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,988 shares of the shipping service provider's stock after selling 2,018 shares during the quarter. FedEx accounts for 0.8% of Highland Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in FedEx were worth $13,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FDX. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in FedEx by 473.8% in 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,975,531 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $1,042,050,000 after purchasing an additional 314,380 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in FedEx by 197.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 341,390 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $96,043,000 after buying an additional 226,608 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of FedEx by 2,163.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 192,441 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $52,667,000 after acquiring an additional 183,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at $49,445,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Amy B. Lane acquired 333 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $276.06 per share, with a total value of $91,927.98. Following the transaction, the director now owns 333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,927.98. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 8,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,461,510.80. This trade represents a 30.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

FedEx Stock Performance

NYSE:FDX traded down $7.19 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $267.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,597,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,504,824. The firm has a market cap of $64.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's 50 day moving average is $280.84 and its 200-day moving average is $282.81. FedEx Co. has a fifty-two week low of $234.45 and a fifty-two week high of $313.84. 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 (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.14 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The firm's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. FedEx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on FedEx from $301.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of FedEx from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $337.00 to $316.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of FedEx from $368.00 to $364.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of FedEx from $325.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $325.43.

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.