Landstar System, Inc. $LSTR Shares Purchased by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi increased its Landstar System stake by 2,254.2% in the first quarter, acquiring 75,810 additional shares for a total position worth approximately $12.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.95% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Landstar has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $196 price target, although Wells Fargo and Wolfe Research recently issued more bullish outlooks.
• Landstar reported quarterly revenue of $1.43 billion, up 18.2% year over year, but earnings per share of $1.44 fell short of estimates. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44 and authorized a buyback of up to 3.3% of outstanding shares.

Amundi boosted its holdings in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR - Free Report) by 2,254.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,173 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,810 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 0.23% of Landstar System worth $12,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Landstar System by 151,424.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,294,325 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $904,495,000 after purchasing an additional 6,290,171 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 185.5% in 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. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Landstar System by 910.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 541,880 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $77,868,000 after purchasing an additional 488,238 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Landstar System by 5,643.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 386,758 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $55,577,000 after buying an additional 380,024 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted 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 worth $105,877,000 after buying an additional 370,253 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LSTR. Wall Street Zen upgraded Landstar System from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Landstar System in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Landstar System from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Landstar System from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $196.00.

Landstar System Trading Up 2.7%

LSTR opened at $181.62 on Wednesday. Landstar System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.32 and a twelve month high of $228.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $206.69 and a 200-day moving average of $178.59. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 47.05 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.

Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Landstar System had a return on equity of 20.84% and a net margin of 2.64%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Landstar System, Inc. will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

Landstar System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Landstar System's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Landstar System's payout ratio is 41.45%.

Landstar System announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 1,115,195,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Landstar System news, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,200 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 15,122 shares in the company, valued at $3,299,166.74. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Diana M. Murphy sold 11,246 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 18,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,171,791.84. The trade was a 37.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Landstar System 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.

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