Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR - Free Report) by 31.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,091 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 36,984 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Landstar System worth $15,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Landstar System by 1.5% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $883,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 568 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Landstar System by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 3,250 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in Landstar System by 2.3% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Landstar System by 2.3% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,608 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 97.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Landstar System Price Performance

NASDAQ:LSTR traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $174.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 119,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,548. Landstar System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $165.39 and a 52-week high of $200.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21. The business's 50-day moving average is $182.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.63. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Landstar System Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.32, for a total transaction of $184,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,595,778.56. The trade was a 6.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LSTR. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Landstar System from $176.00 to $174.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Landstar System from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Landstar System from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $174.25.

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.