Royal Bank of Canada Sells 183,635 Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 34.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 351,613 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 183,635 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Old Dominion Freight Line were worth $68,705,000 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 business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,223,960 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,230,318,000 after buying an additional 1,761,511 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,746,286 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,214,618,000 after acquiring an additional 70,736 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 98.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,122,696 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $648,186,000 after acquiring an additional 2,044,434 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,680,719 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $577,137,000 after acquiring an additional 365,424 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,314,157 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $519,660,000 after acquiring an additional 639,769 shares during the last quarter. 77.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Greg C. Gantt sold 22,107 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $4,233,932.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 88,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,959,287.52. This trade represents a 19.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $197.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on Old Dominion Freight Line from $176.00 to $172.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $229.00 price objective on Old Dominion Freight Line and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Argus increased their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Old Dominion Freight Line currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $226.55.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock opened at $212.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 1.18. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.01 and a 12 month high of $252.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $226.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.57.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.14. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 19.44% and a return on equity of 24.87%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given 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, September 2nd. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.35%.

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.