Royce & Associates LP Trims Stake in Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP has significantly reduced its stake in Acacia Research Corporation by 69.5%, selling over 816,000 shares and now holding approximately 358,000 shares.
• Other institutional investors have also shown varied interest, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. increasing their stake by 257.0% and American Century Companies Inc. raising theirs by 19.6% during the fourth quarter.
• Acacia Research has recently been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, which reflects growing investor confidence in the company.

Royce & Associates LP lowered its stake in Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG - Free Report) by 69.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 358,140 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 816,501 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.37% of Acacia Research worth $1,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACTG. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Acacia Research during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acacia Research during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Acacia Research during the fourth quarter worth $74,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acacia Research during the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Acacia Research by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 22,160 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 4,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.69% of the company's stock.

Acacia Research Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ACTG traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $3.41. 73,793 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 221,026. The business's fifty day moving average is $3.73 and its 200 day moving average is $3.72. Acacia Research Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $2.70 and a fifty-two week high of $5.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.00 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 5.81 and a current ratio of 6.16.

Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.38. Acacia Research had a negative net margin of 5.21% and a positive return on equity of 2.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acacia Research from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acacia Research

In related news, Director Isaac T. Kohlberg sold 16,000 shares of Acacia Research stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.84, for a total transaction of $61,440.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 85,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,112.64. This trade represents a 15.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Acacia Research Company Profile

Acacia is a publicly traded Nasdaq: ACTG company that is focused on acquiring and operating businesses across the industrial, energy and technology sectors where it believes it can leverage its expertise, significant capital base, and deep industry relationships to drive value. Acacia evaluates opportunities based on the attractiveness of the underlying cash flows, without regard to a specific investment horizon.