T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Transcat, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRNS)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Transcat, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRNS - Free Report) by 178.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 518,597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 332,064 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 5.57% of Transcat worth $54,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TRNS. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Transcat by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 217,473 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $26,269,000 after acquiring an additional 11,106 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Transcat by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 873,985 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $92,415,000 after purchasing an additional 15,723 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Transcat by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,461 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 7,893 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Transcat by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,348 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Transcat by 393.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,130 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,826,000 after buying an additional 12,061 shares during the period. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on TRNS. Northland Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Transcat in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. HC Wainwright lowered their price target on Transcat from $126.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Transcat from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Transcat from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.50.

Transcat Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TRNS traded down $4.15 on Monday, reaching $80.98. The company had a trading volume of 98,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,296. The firm has a market capitalization of $753.84 million, a PE ratio of 43.77 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Transcat, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.56 and a 52-week high of $147.12. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $77.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.89.

Transcat (NASDAQ:TRNS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.07. Transcat had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 6.22%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Transcat, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Craig D. Cairns bought 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $77.02 per share, with a total value of $92,424.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $147,108.20. The trade was a 169.01 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Transcat Profile

Transcat, Inc provides calibration and laboratory instrument services in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Service and Distribution. The Service segment offers calibration, repair, inspection, analytical qualification, preventative maintenance, consulting, and other related services.