American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 145,799 Shares of Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 546,664 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 145,799 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Planet Fitness were worth $54,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Planet Fitness during the 4th quarter worth approximately $292,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Planet Fitness during the fourth quarter worth $5,183,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Planet Fitness by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 53,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,336,000 after acquiring an additional 2,849 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Planet Fitness by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 101,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,081,000 after purchasing an additional 4,692 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Planet Fitness by 189.2% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 33,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,291,000 after purchasing an additional 21,772 shares in the last quarter. 95.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Planet Fitness in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Planet Fitness in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Planet Fitness in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie cut their target price on Planet Fitness from $99.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Planet Fitness from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Planet Fitness has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.17.

Planet Fitness Trading Up 0.9 %

PLNT stock opened at $100.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.49. Planet Fitness, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.64 and a 1-year high of $110.00.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $340.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.57 million. Planet Fitness had a net margin of 14.23% and a negative return on equity of 107.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.