First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 179,294 Shares of Landstar System, Inc. $LSTR

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) by 19.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,118,554 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 179,294 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 3.30% of Landstar System worth $179,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LSTR. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Landstar System during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Landstar System by 320.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Landstar System during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Landstar System by 132.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 249 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Landstar System by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 277 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Landstar System

In related news, Director Diana M. Murphy sold 11,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.28, for a total value of $2,488,514.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,171,791.84. This represents a 37.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.17, for a total value of $261,804.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 15,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,299,166.74. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Landstar System Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ LSTR opened at $210.07 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $206.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.49. Landstar System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.32 and a fifty-two week high of $228.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.03 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Landstar System had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Landstar System, Inc. will post 5.73 EPS for the current year.

Landstar System announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 28th that permits the company to repurchase 1,115,195,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Landstar System Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Landstar System’s payout ratio is 44.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $147.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Landstar System from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Landstar System from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Landstar System from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Landstar System from $147.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.42.

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.