Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,295 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $1,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Camarda Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in FedEx by 0.6% during the second quarter. Camarda Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in FedEx by 0.3% during the third quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,192 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $4,289,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Family Legacy Inc. raised its stake in FedEx by 3.2% during the third quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in FedEx by 42.5% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Wade G W & Inc. raised its stake in FedEx by 0.3% during the third quarter. Wade G W & Inc. now owns 17,283 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $4,579,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 73.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Melius upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price target on shares of FedEx from $330.00 to $334.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of FedEx from $279.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of FedEx from $282.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of FedEx from $322.00 to $305.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.56.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In other news, Director Amy B. Lane bought 200 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $253.22 per share, for a total transaction of $50,644.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,304 shares in the company, valued at $836,638.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Amy B. Lane bought 200 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $253.22 per share, for a total transaction of $50,644.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,304 shares in the company, valued at $836,638.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John W. Dietrich bought 1,000 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $252.02 per share, for a total transaction of $252,020.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 4,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,834.90. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 8.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FDX traded down $0.17 on Monday, reaching $253.12. 1,557,686 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,992,058. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. FedEx Co. has a 1-year low of $213.80 and a 1-year high of $285.53. The firm has a market cap of $63.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $245.82 and a 200-day moving average of $251.43.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.14 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $22.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.36 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 16.47%. FedEx’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 17.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 29.86%.

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.