Alliancebernstein L.P. Purchases 220,325 Shares of ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB - Free Report) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,571,917 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 220,325 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 10.99% of ArcBest worth $240,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ArcBest by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,771,123 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $258,601,000 after buying an additional 20,665 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in ArcBest by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 957,410 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $103,831,000 after purchasing an additional 17,542 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in ArcBest by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 618,919 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $57,758,000 after purchasing an additional 86,867 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ArcBest by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 551,821 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $59,856,000 after acquiring an additional 3,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in ArcBest by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 426,155 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $39,769,000 after acquiring an additional 11,894 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.27% of the company's stock.

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ArcBest Stock Down 1.0 %

ARCB stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $63.63. 728,216 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 292,427. The firm's 50-day moving average is $81.99 and its 200-day moving average is $96.67. ArcBest Co. has a 12 month low of $57.80 and a 12 month high of $153.61. The company has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.22. ArcBest had a return on equity of 11.79% and a net margin of 4.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that ArcBest Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ArcBest's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ARCB shares. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of ArcBest in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on ArcBest from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on ArcBest from $100.00 to $73.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of ArcBest from $103.00 to $83.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $126.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Matthew Beasley bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $74.89 per share, with a total value of $52,423.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,142 shares in the company, valued at $609,754.38. The trade was a 9.41 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About ArcBest

ArcBest Corporation, an integrated logistics company, engages in the provision of ground, air, and ocean transportation solutions. It operates through two segments: Asset-Based and Asset-Light. The Asset-Based segment provides less-than-truckload (LTL) services, that transports general commodities, such as food, textiles, apparel, furniture, appliances, chemicals, non-bulk petroleum products, rubber, plastics, metal and metal products, wood, glass, automotive parts, machinery, and miscellaneous manufactured products.