JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stock Position in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB - Free Report) by 47.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 326,006 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 104,499 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.39% of ArcBest worth $30,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ArcBest by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,771,123 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $258,601,000 after buying an additional 20,665 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of ArcBest by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 957,410 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $103,831,000 after acquiring an additional 17,542 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 618,919 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $57,758,000 after acquiring an additional 86,867 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in ArcBest by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 551,821 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $59,856,000 after purchasing an additional 3,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in ArcBest by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 426,155 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $39,769,000 after purchasing an additional 11,894 shares during the last quarter. 99.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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ArcBest Trading Down 1.7 %

ARCB traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 384,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 299,686. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.62. ArcBest Co. has a 52-week low of $57.80 and a 52-week high of $151.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.45.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.22. ArcBest had a net margin of 4.16% and a return on equity of 11.79%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that ArcBest Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. ArcBest's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John Matthew Beasley purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.89 per share, for a total transaction of $52,423.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 8,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,754.38. This trade represents a 9.41 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on ArcBest from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $100.00 to $73.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of ArcBest from $96.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of ArcBest from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on ArcBest from $109.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, ArcBest presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.75.

ArcBest Company Profile

ArcBest Corporation, an integrated logistics company, engages in the provision of ground, air, and ocean transportation solutions. It operates through two segments: Asset-Based and Asset-Light. The Asset-Based segment provides less-than-truckload (LTL) services, that transports general commodities, such as food, textiles, apparel, furniture, appliances, chemicals, non-bulk petroleum products, rubber, plastics, metal and metal products, wood, glass, automotive parts, machinery, and miscellaneous manufactured products.