T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases 496,047 Shares of Planet Fitness, Inc. $PLNT

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Planet Fitness by 6.3%, owning over 8.4 million shares valued at approximately $812 million.
• Several large investors also modified their holdings in Planet Fitness, with significant increases such as Guggenheim Capital LLC, which raised its stake by 32.8%.
• Analysts currently rate Planet Fitness as a Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $107.38 following favorable quarterly earnings reports.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,407,128 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 496,047 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 9.93% of Planet Fitness worth $812,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PLNT. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Planet Fitness by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 322 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Planet Fitness by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the company's stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Planet Fitness by 1.1% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,767 shares of the company's stock worth $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Planet Fitness by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 20,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,942,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 95.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Planet Fitness Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of PLNT stock traded up $0.5690 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $107.5190. The company's stock had a trading volume of 925,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,500,225. Planet Fitness, Inc. has a one year low of $77.77 and a one year high of $114.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $108.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.93.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.07. Planet Fitness had a net margin of 15.11% and a negative return on equity of 110.18%. The company had revenue of $340.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $329.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Planet Fitness's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PLNT shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Planet Fitness in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Planet Fitness in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Planet Fitness in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $126.00 price objective on shares of Planet Fitness and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $120.00 target price on Planet Fitness and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Planet Fitness currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.38.

Planet Fitness Profile

Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The company is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.