Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 437,700 Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL - Free Report) by 74.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,022,812 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 437,700 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Old Dominion Freight Line worth $207,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 2.0% in the third quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 2,611 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 0.6% in the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,124 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,611,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 0.5% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,888 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,163,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 3.8% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,513 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 5.8% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 1,164 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.82% of the company's stock.

Old Dominion Freight Line Stock Performance

Shares of ODFL traded down $2.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $200.69. The company had a trading volume of 849,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,527,076. The firm has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $209.13 and a 200-day moving average of $196.09. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.49 and a 12 month high of $233.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.01. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 21.03% and a return on equity of 29.40%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Old Dominion Freight Line's dividend payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Greg C. Gantt sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.07, for a total value of $1,400,490.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 97,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,584,852.30. The trade was a 6.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leo H. Suggs sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.44, for a total transaction of $676,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,383 shares in the company, valued at $1,664,423.52. The trade was a 28.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ODFL shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $209.00 to $197.00 in a report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $201.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $225.00 to $218.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $204.00.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc operates as a less-than-truckload motor carrier in the United States and North America. The company offers regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services, as well as expedited transportation. It also provides various value-added services, including container drayage, truckload brokerage, and supply chain consulting.