Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,057 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 1,237 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $15,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sentry LLC bought a new stake in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $1,811,748,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at about $700,291,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in FedEx by 32.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,831,084 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,558,718,000 after buying an additional 2,163,622 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in FedEx by 5.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,056,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,893,781 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $732,040,000 after acquiring an additional 798,084 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.48, for a total value of $4,714,624.80. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other FedEx news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,634,640.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Guy M. Erwin II sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.24, for a total transaction of $34,711.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,293.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,944 shares of company stock valued at $9,882,355. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

FDX opened at $299.42 on Monday. FedEx Co. has a 12-month low of $224.69 and a 12-month high of $313.84. The company has a market cap of $73.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $273.07 and its 200 day moving average is $262.52.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.94 earnings per share. FedEx’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 20.94 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FDX has been the topic of several research reports. Argus lifted their price target on FedEx from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of FedEx from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of FedEx from $316.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $340.00 to $333.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of FedEx from $340.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.00.

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.