Avity Investment Management Inc. Buys 2,789 Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. $ODFL

Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 184,419 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the period. Old Dominion Freight Line accounts for about 1.9% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Avity Investment Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Old Dominion Freight Line worth $32,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Old Dominion Freight Line during the 2nd quarter worth $3,416,007,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $543,289,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in Old Dominion Freight Line by 98.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,122,696 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $648,186,000 after acquiring an additional 2,044,434 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Old Dominion Freight Line during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $253,155,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $190,557,000. 77.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ODFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus boosted their target price on Old Dominion Freight Line from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from $232.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Citigroup raised shares of Old Dominion Freight Line from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $231.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $228.00 price objective (up from $224.00) on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $235.00 target price on shares of Old Dominion Freight Line in a research note on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.48.

Old Dominion Freight Line Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of ODFL traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $181.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,463,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,006,783. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.01 and a 1-year high of $252.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.86.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Old Dominion Freight Line had a return on equity of 24.87% and a net margin of 19.44%.Old Dominion Freight Line’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. will post 5.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Dominion Freight Line Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Old Dominion Freight Line’s dividend payout ratio is 22.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Cecil Overbey, Jr. sold 19,952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.39, for a total value of $3,958,277.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 22,746 shares in the company, valued at $4,512,578.94. This trade represents a 46.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 8.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that specializes in regional, inter-regional and national less-than-truckload (LTL) services. The company transports shipments that do not require an entire truck, serving commercial, industrial and retail customers across the United States.

Its services include standard and expedited LTL transportation, freight brokerage, supply chain consulting, container drayage and warehousing. Old Dominion supports customers through a network of service centers, terminals and distribution facilities, providing pickup, line-haul and delivery capabilities for a broad range of freight.

Founded in 1934 by Earl Congdon, the company is headquartered in Thomasville, North Carolina.