Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $12.98 Million Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,306 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,188 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in FedEx were worth $12,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FedEx by 143.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FedEx by 123.3% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FDX. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Melius Research raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 11th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Melius raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.33.

FedEx Stock Up 0.8 %

FDX traded up $2.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $272.44. The stock had a trading volume of 353,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,049,979. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $259.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $67.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. FedEx Co. has a one year low of $213.80 and a one year high of $291.27.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

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

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total value of $794,763.39. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $140,507.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total value of $794,763.39. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $140,507.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total value of $1,769,882.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,277.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773 over the last quarter. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.