Franklin Resources Inc. Has $100 Million Position in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Free Report) by 36.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,885,438 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 507,370 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.16% of Knight-Swift Transportation worth $100,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNX. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 180.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 81,266 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,392,000 after acquiring an additional 52,309 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 24.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,036,790 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $55,935,000 after purchasing an additional 204,228 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 61.6% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 20,109 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 7,666 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the third quarter valued at approximately $879,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario acquired a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the third quarter valued at approximately $289,000. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on KNX. Barclays cut their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.24.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Douglas L. Col acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $45.37 per share, with a total value of $226,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $226,850. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Down 0.2 %

KNX traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $38.89. 1,816,462 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,247,912. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.35 and a beta of 1.16. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $36.69 and a one year high of $61.51. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $49.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.79. 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 (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 2.43%. As a group, analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Knight-Swift Transportation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.63%.

Knight-Swift Transportation Company Profile

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.