Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 23.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 403,762 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 121,875 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.65% of Werner Enterprises worth $14,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the third quarter valued at approximately $96,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,976 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,187 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WERN stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $27.88. 220,743 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 792,403. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.72 and a beta of 1.06. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.50 and a fifty-two week high of $42.48. The stock's 50 day moving average is $30.96 and its 200-day moving average is $35.36.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.13%. Analysts predict that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WERN. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $28.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $27.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.71.

About Werner Enterprises

Werner Enterprises, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in transporting truckload shipments of general commodities in interstate and intrastate commerce in the United States, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Truckload Transportation Services and Werner Logistics.