Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on FedEx (NYSE:FDX)

FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 10,278 call options on the company. This is an increase of 69% compared to the typical volume of 6,087 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FDX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on FedEx from $445.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $375.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on FedEx from $376.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of FedEx from $425.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price objective on FedEx from $375.00 to $344.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $350.54.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In other news, Director Paul S. Walsh sold 5,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.56, for a total transaction of $1,636,431.52. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,359 shares in the company, valued at $5,309,477.04. This trade represents a 23.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in FedEx in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,508,103,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,521,691 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,763,824,000 after acquiring an additional 382,848 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,133,231 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,482,785,000 after purchasing an additional 318,293 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,985,778 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,443,666,000 after purchasing an additional 45,818 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in FedEx by 3.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,618,898 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $853,372,000 after purchasing an additional 108,426 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FedEx Trading Down 0.7%

FedEx stock traded down $2.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $322.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 686,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,173,421. The company has a 50 day moving average of $319.20 and a 200-day moving average of $350.71. The stock has a market cap of $76.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.48. FedEx has a one year low of $176.00 and a one year high of $345.36.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The shipping service provider reported $5.88 earnings per share for the quarter. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 4.68%.The business had revenue of $23.26 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts anticipate that FedEx will post 17.6 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.36%.

About FedEx

FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) is a global logistics and courier company headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by Frederick W. Smith in 1971 and beginning operations in the early 1970s, the company pioneered overnight express shipping and has since expanded into a diversified portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and supply-chain services. FedEx operates an integrated air-and-ground network that moves parcels, freight and documents for businesses and consumers worldwide.

FedEx’s core operating segments include express parcel delivery via its FedEx Express division, domestic and residential parcel delivery through FedEx Ground, less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services, and logistics and supply-chain management solutions.