American Century Companies Inc. Buys 30,245 Shares of Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC - Free Report) by 160.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,057 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 30,245 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.00% of Preformed Line Products worth $6,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Preformed Line Products by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Preformed Line Products by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,371 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Preformed Line Products in the third quarter worth $348,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Preformed Line Products by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,855 shares of the technology company's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Preformed Line Products by 21.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,161 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. 41.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Preformed Line Products from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Preformed Line Products Price Performance

Shares of PLPC traded up $11.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $142.41. 37,959 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,818. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $703.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $137.98 and a 200 day moving average of $132.56. Preformed Line Products has a one year low of $109.01 and a one year high of $154.90.

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The technology company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $167.12 million for the quarter. Preformed Line Products had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 5.76%.

Preformed Line Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Preformed Line Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.67%.

About Preformed Line Products

Preformed Line Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products and systems that are used in the construction and maintenance of overhead, ground-mounted, and underground networks for the energy, telecommunication, cable, data communication, and other industries. The company offers optical ground wire products to support, protect, terminate, and splice transmission and distribution lines, as well as bolted, welded, and compressed connectors for substations; and string hardware products, polymer insulators, wildlife protection, substation fittings, and motion control devices.