Buffington Mohr McNeal Purchases 753 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Buffington Mohr McNeal increased its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 30.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,262 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the period. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in FedEx were worth $945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,729,110 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $4,961,716,000 after purchasing an additional 59,161 shares in the last quarter. Sentry LLC bought a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,811,748,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of FedEx by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,667,462 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,686,738,000 after buying an additional 880,894 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of FedEx by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,238,185 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $857,860,000 after acquiring an additional 35,085 shares during the period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC grew its position in 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. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of FDX stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $298.22. 1,831,186 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,956,106. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $256.37. FedEx Co. has a 12-month low of $224.69 and a 12-month high of $302.41. The stock has a market cap of $73.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.18.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $22.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 16.70%. FedEx’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.94 EPS. On average, analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 20.67 EPS for the current year.

FedEx announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the shipping service provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 24th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. This is a boost from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 32.04%.

Insider Activity

In other FedEx news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 1,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total value of $368,668.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,542,999.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other FedEx news, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,735,192.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 1,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total value of $368,668.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,614 shares in the company, valued at $23,542,999.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,820 shares of company stock valued at $37,639,038 over the last ninety days. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on FDX shares. Barclays boosted their target price on FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $327.00 target price (up previously from $303.00) on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of FedEx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $296.00 to $359.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on FedEx from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of FedEx from $340.00 to $333.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.00.

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.