14,215 Shares in IDT Co. (NYSE:IDT) Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of IDT Co. (NYSE:IDT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $675,000. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.06% of IDT at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of IDT by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in IDT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $129,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in IDT in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of IDT in the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of IDT during the fourth quarter worth $201,000. 59.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IDT Trading Up 0.6 %

IDT stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.30. 99,056 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 93,559. IDT Co. has a 52-week low of $33.84 and a 52-week high of $58.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $49.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 0.58.

IDT (NYSE:IDT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $303.35 million for the quarter. IDT had a return on equity of 22.18% and a net margin of 6.10%.

IDT Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from IDT's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. IDT's dividend payout ratio is 7.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO David Wartell sold 10,735 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.99, for a total value of $525,907.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 25.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of IDT from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th.

IDT Company Profile

IDT Corporation provides communications and payment services in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through Fintech, National Retail Solutions, net2phone, and Traditional Communications segments. The company operates point of sale, a terminal-based platform which provides independent retailers store management software, electronic payment processing, and other ancillary merchant services; and provides marketers with digital out-of-home advertising and transaction data.