Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 79 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,677 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 79 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in FedEx by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in FedEx by 143.2% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Price Performance

FDX stock traded down $4.51 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $293.71. 1,274,326 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,457,575. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $256.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. FedEx Co. has a 1-year low of $224.69 and a 1-year high of $302.41. The company has a market cap of $72.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.18.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.34 by $0.07. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 4.94%. The company had revenue of $22.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 20.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 24th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.04%.

FedEx announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the shipping service provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FDX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of FedEx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $296.00 to $359.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on FedEx from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on FedEx from $340.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.00.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In other news, Director David P. Steiner sold 1,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.71, for a total value of $407,564.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,474,330.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director David P. Steiner sold 1,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.71, for a total value of $407,564.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,474,330.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total transaction of $703,009.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,735,192.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,864 shares of company stock worth $37,677,934 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.73% 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.