Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Sells 22,551 Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its position in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,981 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 22,551 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $22,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 109.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,435,228 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $285,094,000 after purchasing an additional 750,073 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the fourth quarter worth $128,221,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the 4th quarter valued at about $114,449,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 74.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,022,812 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $207,068,000 after acquiring an additional 437,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,983,000. 77.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ODFL shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $237.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $236.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Old Dominion Freight Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.74.

Old Dominion Freight Line Price Performance

Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock opened at $164.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $34.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.06 and a 12-month high of $233.26.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.06. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 28.02% and a net margin of 20.40%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.98%.

Old Dominion Freight Line Profile

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc operates as a less-than-truckload motor carrier in the United States and North America. The company offers regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services, as well as expedited transportation. It also provides various value-added services, including container drayage, truckload brokerage, and supply chain consulting.