Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stake in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR - Free Report) by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,177 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,756 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Landstar System worth $11,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Landstar System in the second quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Landstar System by 431.3% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 441 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Landstar System during the 2nd quarter valued at $106,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Landstar System by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 568 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Landstar System during the second quarter worth $131,000. 97.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LSTR shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Landstar System from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Landstar System from $176.00 to $174.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James downgraded Landstar System from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Landstar System from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $174.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.32, for a total transaction of $184,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,595,778.56. The trade was a 6.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Landstar System Stock Performance

NASDAQ LSTR traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $172.64. 1,141,684 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 260,943. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Landstar System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.39 and a 1 year high of $201.40. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $183.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.88.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($0.04). Landstar System had a return on equity of 20.68% and a net margin of 4.32%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.71 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Landstar System, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Landstar System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a dividend of $2.00 per share. This is a boost from Landstar System's previous special dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. Landstar System's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.70%.

Landstar System Profile

Landstar System, Inc provides integrated transportation management solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Transportation Logistics and Insurance. The Transportation Logistics segment offers a range of transportation services, including truckload and less-than-truckload transportation, rail intermodal, air cargo, ocean cargo, expedited ground and air delivery of time-critical freight, heavy-haul/specialized, U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico cross-border, intra-Mexico, intra-Canada, project cargo, and customs brokerage, as well as offers transportation services to other transportation companies, such as third party logistics and less-than-truckload services.