ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,848 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in FedEx by 175.9% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 149 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC grew its holdings in FedEx by 29.1% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 164 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx during the second quarter worth about $50,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FedEx Stock Up 2.3 %

FedEx stock opened at $271.91 on Thursday. FedEx Co. has a twelve month low of $224.69 and a twelve month high of $313.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $280.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.17.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The shipping service provider reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by ($1.22). The company had revenue of $21.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 4.62%. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on FedEx from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Argus raised their price objective on FedEx from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on FedEx from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bernstein Bank raised their target price on FedEx from $305.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on FedEx from $333.00 to $311.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.17.

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.