ING Groep NV Makes New Investment in Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT)

ING Groep NV purchased a new position in Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 19,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,568,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PLNT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,174,617 shares of the company's stock valued at $511,976,000 after buying an additional 97,823 shares during the last quarter. Dorsal Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Planet Fitness by 7.7% in the second quarter. Dorsal Capital Management LP now owns 2,907,193 shares of the company's stock worth $213,940,000 after purchasing an additional 207,193 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Planet Fitness in the 2nd quarter valued at about $166,978,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 35.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,859,366 shares of the company's stock worth $116,453,000 after purchasing an additional 483,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anomaly Capital Management LP bought a new position in Planet Fitness in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $106,795,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PLNT shares. Raymond James boosted their target price on Planet Fitness from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Planet Fitness from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $87.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Planet Fitness from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Planet Fitness from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $97.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Planet Fitness currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.81.

Planet Fitness Stock Performance

Planet Fitness stock traded up $1.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $97.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,031,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,541,944. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $83.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.24. The company has a market capitalization of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.49. Planet Fitness, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.35 and a 12 month high of $98.59.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $292.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.79 million. Planet Fitness had a net margin of 14.23% and a negative return on equity of 107.97%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

About Planet Fitness

Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The company is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.