Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) Position Boosted by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 58,177 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 12,756 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Landstar System were worth $11,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 3,775.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 334,853 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $63,243,000 after purchasing an additional 326,212 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Landstar System by 6.2% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,697,093 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $313,080,000 after buying an additional 99,461 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Landstar System by 509.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 55,048 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,397,000 after buying an additional 46,014 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 24.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 232,924 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,992,000 after acquiring an additional 45,147 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Landstar System by 10.8% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 429,928 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $81,201,000 after acquiring an additional 41,758 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on LSTR. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Landstar System from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens cut their target price on 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. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Landstar System from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.25.

Landstar System Price Performance

NASDAQ LSTR opened at $172.64 on Friday. Landstar System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.39 and a 1 year high of $201.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $183.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.86. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21.

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

Landstar System Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $2.00 dividend. This is an increase from Landstar System’s previous special dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Landstar System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Landstar System news, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,000 shares of Landstar System 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Landstar System

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.