On May 8, 2023, it was reported that Los Angeles Capital Management LLC had cut its holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 98.8% in the fourth quarter of the previous year. According to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the fund owned only 1,282 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after selling a whopping 105,731 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in FedEx were valued at $222,000 by the end of this reporting period.
In contrast to this news about Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s reduction in holdings, on March 16th of this year, FedEx announced its quarterly earnings results. The shipping service provider exceeded expectations with $3.41 earnings per share for the quarter compared to analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 per share – which led investors to believe that these stocks were a good buy! Moreover, they generated revenue of $22.17 billion—their first rise since before Covid-19 hit— although lower than analysts’ predictions for $22.74 billion.
This improvement in earnings came as no surprise to Director Amy B. Lane who went ahead and purchased 830 shares of FedEx stock on April 6th at a cost of $232.88 per share amounting to a total transaction price of $193,290.40; following her recent acquisition she accumulated total company shares worth approximately $549,363.92.
However, news also came out on April 6th that CEO Rajesh Subramaniam had sold part of his stake in FedEx with a transaction value totaling around $2 million dollars due to his personal finances requiring additional liquidity causing some market discomfort amongst retail investors and shareholders.
Despite insider selling taking place over the last three years— insiders continue selling their stock; In fact corporate insiders have sold approximately 146,486 shares or an estimated value of $34,001,009 making up for 8.62% of the company’s total stocks.
It remains to be seen if these developments in trading will affect feedback and outlook of investor confidence on their future investment in the industry which may significantly impact stock prices.
FedEx: Institutional Investors and Hedge Funds Show Increased Activity
FedEx, the global courier delivery services company based in Memphis, Tennessee, has seen significant activity from institutional investors and hedge funds over the past few months. According to reports, 72.02% of the company’s stock is currently owned by these large investors. Some of the most notable movements include International Assets Investment Management LLC raising its position in FedEx by a staggering 24,422.8% during Q4 of 2022 and owning over one million shares valued at $1.6 million after acquiring over one million shares at that time.
Edmp Inc., a hedge fund with assets under management of over $5 billion as of last year, has also boosted its stake in FedEx substantially by 21,900.8%, while Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in the company during Q3 2022 valued at just shy of $123 million.
BlackRock Inc., one of the world’s largest asset managers with more than $9 trillion in assets under management as per their annual report released earlier this year, increased its holdings in FedEx by 2.9% to 16,818,843 shares valued at nearly $2.5 billion.
Finally, insurance and investment giant Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in FedEx by an impressive 114.6% during Q3 last year and now owns over 868 thousand shares worth around $129 million.
On May 8th this year (the reference date for this article), FedEx’s share price opened at $229.30 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The company has a market capitalization of more than $57 billion and maintains a price-to-earnings ratio of roughly just below twenty. It also has a PEG ratio value of approximately 1.26 with beta value standing at 1.33 – indicating that it is slightly more sensitive to market volatility compared to other companies.
In terms of recent insider transactions, Director Amy B. Lane purchased 830 shares of the company’s stock in April at an average cost of $232.88 per share, bringing her total ownership to more than two thousand shares worth over half a million dollars. CEO Rajesh Subramaniam also sold more than eleven thousand shares in the same month for around $2.57 million.
Furthermore, FedEx recently announced that its upcoming quarterly dividend will be $1.26 per share, which represents a 9% increase compared to its previous quarter payout and brings the annualized dividend yield to approximately 2.20%. Investors of record on June 12th will be issued their dividends on July 3rd.
Several equities analysts have been closely observing FedEx’s recent movements, with several of them weighing in on it publicly in recent months. Most analysts seem bullish about the future prospects of this shipping service provider. Loop Capital upped their price target from $241 to $263 while Barclays lifted theirs from $240 to $280 and gave the company an “overweight” rating. UBS Group is maintaining a price target on FedEx at around $260; in comparison, Argus raised their price objective from $200 to $240 and assigned a buy rating for the stock while Robert W. Baird has gone even higher with their target price going up from $250 to $275.
Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds seem confident about the future growth potential for FedEx as it continues its position as one of the world’s leading courier delivery companies with technologically advanced operations which could weather any market turbulence loom ahead.
Source: https://beststocks.com/los-angeles-capital-management-llc-reduces-holding-10/
