Clearbridge Investments LLC Invests $11.09 Million in Landstar System, Inc. $LSTR

Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 77,171 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,089,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Landstar System by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 20,585 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,523,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Landstar System by 9.7% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Landstar System by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 814 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Landstar System by 4.9% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Landstar System by 0.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,188 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. 97.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Landstar System Price Performance

NASDAQ LSTR opened at $218.92 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $185.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.35. The company has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.48 and a beta of 0.88. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.32 and a 1 year high of $228.46.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Landstar System had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 2.62%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Landstar System, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Landstar System announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 28th that permits the company to buyback 1,115,195,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to purchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Landstar System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. Landstar System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Landstar System news, Director Diana M. Murphy sold 11,246 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.28, for a total transaction of $2,488,514.88. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,171,791.84. This trade represents a 37.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LSTR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Landstar System from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Landstar System from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Landstar System from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Landstar System from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Landstar System from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.00.

About Landstar System

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.