Birch Capital Management LLC Purchases 9,599 Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Birch Capital Management LLC grew its position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 161.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,549 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,599 shares during the period. FedEx accounts for 2.2% of Birch Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $4,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FDX. Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 72.7% during the third quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in FedEx by 175.9% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 149 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC boosted its position in FedEx by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 164 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of FDX stock traded up $2.47 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $276.44. The company had a trading volume of 809,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,420. FedEx Co. has a 52 week low of $234.45 and a 52 week high of $313.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $283.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.39.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.17. FedEx had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The company had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 34.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Amy B. Lane purchased 333 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $276.06 per share, for a total transaction of $91,927.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 333 shares in the company, valued at $91,927.98. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FDX. Loop Capital raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $288.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on FedEx from $325.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $321.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of FedEx from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FedEx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.96.

About FedEx

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.