Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 1,048 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 5.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,459 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 1,048 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in FedEx were worth $5,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FDX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in FedEx by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,868,165 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $5,756,602,000 after buying an additional 1,056,061 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of FedEx by 32.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,831,084 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,558,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163,622 shares during the period. Sentry LLC acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at $1,811,748,000. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of FedEx by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,893,781 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $732,040,000 after purchasing an additional 798,084 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at $700,291,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FDX shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on FedEx from $351.00 to $318.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Argus lifted their price target on FedEx from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised FedEx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $296.00 to $359.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up previously from $303.00) on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FedEx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 8,421 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.14, for a total value of $2,611,688.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,246 shares in the company, valued at $3,797,974.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other FedEx news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.48, for a total transaction of $4,714,624.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,884 shares in the company, valued at $17,634,640.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 8,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.14, for a total transaction of $2,611,688.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,797,974.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,944 shares of company stock worth $9,882,355. Corporate insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

FedEx stock traded up $1.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $300.14. 1,200,882 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,737,460. FedEx Co. has a 52 week low of $224.69 and a 52 week high of $313.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $73.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $273.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $262.44.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $22.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.04 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 20.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 24th were given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is an increase from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 24th. FedEx’s payout ratio is presently 32.04%.

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.