Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD) Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) by 216.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,745 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,410 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.06% of Upbound Group worth $955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UPBD. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Upbound Group by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Upbound Group by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,785 shares of the company's stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in Upbound Group in the 4th quarter worth $174,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Upbound Group in the third quarter valued at about $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.30% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Fahmi Karam bought 11,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.82 per share, with a total value of $296,930.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 164,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,831.04. This trade represents a 7.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Upbound Group Stock Performance

UPBD traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $20.33. 17,155 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 492,893. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 1.90. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.08 and a 12 month high of $38.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.47% and a net margin of 2.86%. Analysts anticipate that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Upbound Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.67%. Upbound Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Upbound Group Company Profile

Upbound Group, Inc leases household durable goods to customers on a lease-to-own basis in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. It operates through four segments: Rent-A-Center, Acima, Mexico, and Franchising. The company's brands, such as Rent-A-Center and Acima that facilitate consumer transactions across a range of store-based and virtual channels.