5 Stocks American Politicians are Buying in 2024

3. FedEx Corp (NYSE:FDX)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 70

Congressman Rick Larsen hails from Washington’s 2nd congressional district. On April 4 the Congressman piled into FedEx Corp (NYSE:FDX) shares in a transaction worth between $1,001 and $15,000. However, Larsen noted in his transaction notes that this was part of “quarterly portfolio rebalancing” done by his “asset manager” which he does not “control per contract.”

As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, 70 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in FedEx Corp (NYSE:FDX). The biggest stakeholder of FedEx Corp (NYSE:FDX) during this period was Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust which had a $388 million stake in FedEx Corp (NYSE:FDX).

Artisan Value Fund stated the following regarding FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Other Q4 laggards were global reinsurer Arch Capital and shipping company FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)—holdings that pulled back following large gains. Back in September 2022, FedEx was selling for less than 8X our estimate of normalized earnings due to substantial pessimism. Although the demand environment remains challenging globally, particularly in the Express segment, the company is delivering solid earnings growth driven by cost savings initiatives. FedEx’s DRIVE program, which seeks to deliver $4 billion in permanent cost reductions by creating an integrated air-ground network similar to that of rival UPS, is showing progress, and workforce reductions have also been enacted. While operating results can be choppy, FedEx’s longer term business economics are highly favorable given the global shipping industry’s consolidated structure and massive barriers to entry that afford operators with pricing power to counter cost inflation and earn respectable returns on capital over the business cycle.”