Poplar Forest Capital LLC Sells 33,443 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Poplar Forest Capital LLC lowered its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 28.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 85,875 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 33,443 shares during the quarter. FedEx accounts for 3.2% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $21,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in FedEx by 143.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 123.3% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 134 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:FDX traded down $5.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $266.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,695,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,056,297. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 1.27 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $261.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.36. FedEx Co. has a fifty-two week low of $213.80 and a fifty-two week high of $291.27.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.41 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FDX shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on FedEx from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on FedEx from $293.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, FedEx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.33.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total value of $1,769,882.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,277.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other FedEx news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total transaction of $1,769,882.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,277.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total value of $102,373.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,223,600.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773 in the last three months. Corporate 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.