The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes $4.85 Million Position in Landstar System, Inc. $LSTR

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 23,473 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,854,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LSTR. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Landstar System in the 2nd quarter valued at $698,683,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,761,526 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $216,242,000 after purchasing an additional 341,808 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,118,554 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $179,315,000 after purchasing an additional 179,294 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Landstar System by 185.5% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 987,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $141,844,000 after purchasing an additional 641,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Landstar System by 99.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 742,215 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $105,877,000 after purchasing an additional 370,253 shares in the last quarter. 97.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LSTR shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Landstar System from $186.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Landstar System from $198.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised Landstar System from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Landstar System from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $214.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Landstar System from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.00.

Insider Activity at Landstar System

In related news, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.17, for a total transaction of $261,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 15,122 shares in the company, valued at $3,299,166.74. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diana M. Murphy sold 11,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.28, for a total value of $2,488,514.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,853 shares in the company, valued at $4,171,791.84. This trade represents a 37.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Landstar System Trading Up 0.3%

LSTR stock opened at $180.63 on Tuesday. Landstar System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.32 and a twelve month high of $228.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.80 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.18.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.05). Landstar System had a return on equity of 20.84% and a net margin of 2.64%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. Landstar System’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Landstar System, Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Landstar System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Landstar System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Landstar System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.60%.

Landstar System Company Profile

Landstar System, Inc provides integrated transportation management solutions through a network of independent agents and third-party capacity providers. The company specializes in truckload brokerage, intermodal, air and ocean freight, expedited and heavy-haul services, along with value-added offerings such as cargo insurance, customs brokerage and supply chain management. Landstar’s proprietary technology platform enables real-time load matching, shipment tracking and data analytics to optimize fleet utilization and improve customer service.

Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Landstar pioneered an asset-light brokerage model that has evolved into a global logistics operation.