Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 122.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,822,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,004,609 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $285,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 2.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,252,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,273,546,000 after buying an additional 494,674 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,366,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $614,764,000 after buying an additional 776,004 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,544,588 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $499,007,000 after purchasing an additional 622,275 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,314,157 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $519,660,000 after purchasing an additional 639,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $444,983,000. 77.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Dominion Freight Line

In other news, Director Greg C. Gantt sold 22,107 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $4,233,932.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 88,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,959,287.52. This represents a 19.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Up 0.7%

ODFL stock opened at $248.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.04, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.17. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.01 and a twelve month high of $252.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.56.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 23.42% and a net margin of 18.46%.The company’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ODFL. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on Old Dominion Freight Line from $176.00 to $172.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Old Dominion Freight Line from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Evercore set a $219.00 price target on Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Argus raised Old Dominion Freight Line from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Old Dominion Freight Line has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

Old Dominion Freight Line is a U.S.-based less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation company that provides regional, inter-regional and national freight services. Founded in 1934 and headquartered in Thomasville, North Carolina, the company has grown from a regional carrier into a national freight network, operating a broad system of service centers and terminals to move shipments for shippers of varying sizes and industries.

The company’s core business is LTL trucking, offering scheduled pickup and delivery for palletized freight that does not require a full truckload.