Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Reduces Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) by 66.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,251 shares of the shipping service provider's stock after selling 8,332 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in FedEx were worth $1,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of FedEx by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,199,506 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $5,682,727,000 after purchasing an additional 56,236 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in FedEx by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,689,791 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $1,281,335,000 after acquiring an additional 67,502 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $1,042,050,000 after acquiring an additional 314,380 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,699,179 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $465,031,000 after acquiring an additional 11,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FedEx by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,500,736 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $422,202,000 after purchasing an additional 49,160 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.47% of the company's stock.

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FedEx Stock Up 0.2 %

FDX traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $242.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 418,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,739,219. FedEx Co. has a 1 year low of $217.22 and a 1 year high of $313.84. The stock's 50-day moving average is $256.59 and its 200-day moving average is $270.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. The company had revenue of $22.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.86 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. FedEx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In related news, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.55, for a total transaction of $1,499,050.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 23,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,686,161.85. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Dietrich bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $273.98 per share, for a total transaction of $273,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 9,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,484,176.66. The trade was a 12.40 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,711 shares of company stock worth $3,312,693. 8.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FDX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of FedEx from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Cfra Research upgraded FedEx to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of FedEx in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James decreased their price target on FedEx from $320.00 to $290.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on FedEx from $295.00 to $272.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $302.71.

FedEx Company 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.