Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Reduces Position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC trimmed its position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,538 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 4,429 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $18,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning increased its stake in FedEx by 3.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 70,615 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $21,173,000 after acquiring an additional 2,563 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in FedEx by 7.1% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 34,330 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $10,298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,265 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in FedEx by 19.5% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 686 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in FedEx by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,950 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of FedEx during the second quarter valued at about $126,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FedEx Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:FDX traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $278.81. The company had a trading volume of 94,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,446,805. FedEx Co. has a 1 year low of $234.45 and a 1 year high of $313.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $281.09 and a 200 day moving average of $282.86. The company has a market cap of $67.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.20.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.14 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. FedEx’s payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FDX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James raised their target price on FedEx from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $368.00 to $364.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BNP Paribas raised shares of FedEx from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on FedEx from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on FedEx from $325.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FedEx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FedEx news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total transaction of $713,371.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,984,589.98. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Amy B. Lane purchased 333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $276.06 per share, for a total transaction of $91,927.98. Following the transaction, the director now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,927.98. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.