Aviva PLC Makes New $4.84 Million Investment in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Aviva PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 91,275 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $4,841,000. Aviva PLC owned 0.06% of Knight-Swift Transportation as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,922,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 8,935 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,545 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,885,438 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $100,004,000 after buying an additional 507,370 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 292,859 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $15,533,000 after purchasing an additional 49,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,962 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.77% of the company's stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Down 1.3 %

KNX traded down $0.52 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.02. 368,633 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,299,845. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 54.67 and a beta of 1.16. The company's fifty day moving average price is $47.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 0.85. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.69 and a fifty-two week high of $61.51.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 2.43% and a net margin of 1.59%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This is an increase from Knight-Swift Transportation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Knight-Swift Transportation's payout ratio is presently 98.63%.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, Director Douglas L. Col acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $45.37 per share, with a total value of $226,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $226,850. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $66.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

About Knight-Swift Transportation

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides freight transportation services in the United States and Mexico. The company operates through four segments: Truckload, Less-than-truckload (LTL), Logistics, and Intermodal. The Truckload segment provides transportation services, which include irregular route and dedicated, refrigerated, expedited, flatbed, and cross-border operations.