223,609 Shares in Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) Acquired by WCM Investment Management LLC

WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 223,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,289,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Planet Fitness during the 2nd quarter worth about $207,000. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 396.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Planet Fitness by 3.0% during the third quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 162,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,215,000 after buying an additional 4,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Planet Fitness by 69.8% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 489 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 95.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Planet Fitness from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Planet Fitness from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Planet Fitness in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Planet Fitness from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up from $91.00) on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Friday, November 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Planet Fitness currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Planet Fitness

In other Planet Fitness news, insider Jennifer Simmons sold 11,453 shares of Planet Fitness stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $1,101,778.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,838,382. The trade was a 37.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 5.94% of the company’s stock.

Planet Fitness Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PLNT opened at $107.85 on Friday. Planet Fitness, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.35 and a twelve month high of $110.00. The company has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.98, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $102.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.99.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.07. Planet Fitness had a net margin of 14.23% and a negative return on equity of 107.97%. The company had revenue of $292.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.79 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Planet Fitness Profile

Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The company is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.