J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Takes Position in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,463 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $700,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ODFL. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line during the third quarter valued at $292,599,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 637.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,576,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $221,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362,697 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,366,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $614,764,000 after purchasing an additional 776,004 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,544,588 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $499,007,000 after purchasing an additional 622,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Old Dominion Freight Line by 63.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,521,054 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $246,867,000 after buying an additional 592,605 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Old Dominion Freight Line news, insider Earl E. Congdon sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.13, for a total value of $4,903,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,162,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $424,055,222.69. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman David S. Congdon sold 52,000 shares of Old Dominion Freight Line stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.77, for a total value of $10,128,040.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 712,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $138,832,056. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,134 shares of company stock worth $15,640,132. 10.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ODFL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Old Dominion Freight Line from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 25th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $232.00 target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus raised Old Dominion Freight Line from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Old Dominion Freight Line has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.13.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ODFL opened at $198.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $41.27 billion, a PE ratio of 40.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.20. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.01 and a 12-month high of $221.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $191.31 and a 200 day moving average of $162.93.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a net margin of 18.62% and a return on equity of 24.03%. The business’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Old Dominion Freight Line’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.02%.

Old Dominion Freight Line Profile

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.