Donaldson Capital Management LLC Takes $215,000 Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 743 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in FedEx by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 133,075 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $35,254,000 after acquiring an additional 13,197 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,655 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in FedEx by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 595,122 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $157,660,000 after buying an additional 13,642 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

FDX traded up $0.32 on Friday, reaching $265.84. The company had a trading volume of 958,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,517,622. The stock has a market cap of $65.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.31. FedEx Co. has a fifty-two week low of $213.80 and a fifty-two week high of $291.27. The company’s fifty day moving average is $262.17 and its 200 day moving average is $254.51.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 17.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the shipping service provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. FedEx’s payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other FedEx news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total value of $1,769,882.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,277.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Melius Research raised FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on FedEx from $293.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.33.

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.