American Century Companies Inc. Sells 176,363 Shares of Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its stake in Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) by 30.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 401,728 shares of the company’s stock after selling 176,363 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Planet Fitness were worth $29,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dorsal Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Planet Fitness during the 4th quarter worth $182,500,000. Greenvale Capital LLP lifted its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 291.3% during the 4th quarter. Greenvale Capital LLP now owns 1,741,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296,140 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Planet Fitness during the 4th quarter worth about $65,674,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Planet Fitness by 97.7% during the 1st quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 1,381,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,546,000 after purchasing an additional 682,863 shares during the period. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Planet Fitness by 255.4% in the 4th quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 756,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,256,000 after buying an additional 543,942 shares during the last quarter. 95.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLNT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $87.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Planet Fitness from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $62.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Planet Fitness in a research report on Friday, June 14th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Planet Fitness from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $97.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Planet Fitness from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.93.

Planet Fitness Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE PLNT opened at $83.17 on Thursday. Planet Fitness, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.13 and a 1-year high of $83.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.56. The company has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.80, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.49.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.05. Planet Fitness had a negative return on equity of 121.99% and a net margin of 14.16%. The business had revenue of $300.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Planet Fitness’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Planet Fitness

In related news, CAO Brian O’donnell sold 6,424 shares of Planet Fitness stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.39, for a total transaction of $497,153.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $524,549.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Planet Fitness

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.