Marshall Wace LLP Cuts Stock Position in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB)

Marshall Wace LLP reduced its position in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB - Free Report) by 26.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 195,532 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 70,902 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.84% of ArcBest worth $18,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ARCB. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of ArcBest by 146.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 298 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of ArcBest in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of ArcBest by 471.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 549 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in ArcBest by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,148 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of ArcBest during the 4th quarter worth $206,000. Institutional investors own 99.27% of the company's stock.

ArcBest Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCB traded down $5.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.65. 239,858 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 296,295. The company's 50 day moving average price is $71.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 8.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.62. ArcBest Co. has a 12 month low of $57.38 and a 12 month high of $139.26.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.22. ArcBest had a return on equity of 11.79% and a net margin of 4.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that ArcBest Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. ArcBest's payout ratio is 6.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John Matthew Beasley bought 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $74.89 per share, for a total transaction of $52,423.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,754.38. The trade was a 9.41 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ARCB shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on ArcBest from $109.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $100.00 to $73.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of ArcBest from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of ArcBest from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.50.

About ArcBest

ArcBest Corporation, an integrated logistics company, engages in the provision of ground, air, and ocean transportation solutions. It operates through two segments: Asset-Based and Asset-Light. The Asset-Based segment provides less-than-truckload (LTL) services, that transports general commodities, such as food, textiles, apparel, furniture, appliances, chemicals, non-bulk petroleum products, rubber, plastics, metal and metal products, wood, glass, automotive parts, machinery, and miscellaneous manufactured products.