FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Stake Lowered by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 0.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,203 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. FedEx accounts for 1.7% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $5,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FDX. Capital International Investors boosted its position in FedEx by 32.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,163,622 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,868,165 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $5,756,602,000 after buying an additional 1,056,061 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 473.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784,691 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,147,540,000 after buying an additional 647,926 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of FedEx by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,248,137 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $674,336,000 after buying an additional 578,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its stake in FedEx by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 368,107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $101,022,000 after acquiring an additional 161,022 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on FDX shares. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of FedEx from $345.00 to $330.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of FedEx in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America dropped their price target on FedEx from $347.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on FedEx from $334.00 to $328.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on FedEx from $327.00 to $321.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.04.

FedEx Stock Up 0.7 %

FDX opened at $294.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $71.94 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.28. FedEx Co. has a 1 year low of $234.45 and a 1 year high of $313.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $275.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.27.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The shipping service provider reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by ($1.22). FedEx had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The business had revenue of $21.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 34.05%.

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.