14,215 Shares in IDT Co. (NYSE:IDT) Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of IDT Co. (NYSE:IDT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $675,000. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.06% of IDT at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of IDT by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 22,234 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of IDT during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of IDT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,172,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in IDT by 101.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 112,614 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,351,000 after acquiring an additional 56,738 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of IDT in the fourth quarter worth $358,000. 59.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of IDT from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th.

IDT Price Performance

Shares of IDT stock traded up $0.59 on Tuesday, hitting $48.37. The company had a trading volume of 96,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 93,698. IDT Co. has a 52 week low of $33.84 and a 52 week high of $58.77. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.59.

IDT (NYSE:IDT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $303.35 million during the quarter. IDT had a return on equity of 22.18% and a net margin of 6.10%.

IDT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from IDT's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. IDT's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO David Wartell sold 10,735 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.99, for a total transaction of $525,907.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 25.32% of the company's stock.

About IDT

IDT Corporation provides communications and payment services in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through Fintech, National Retail Solutions, net2phone, and Traditional Communications segments. The company operates point of sale, a terminal-based platform which provides independent retailers store management software, electronic payment processing, and other ancillary merchant services; and provides marketers with digital out-of-home advertising and transaction data.