American Century Companies Inc. Increases Position in Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 973,162 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 136,642 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.79% of Universal Technical Institute worth $25,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTI. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 31,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 14,659 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Universal Technical Institute by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 18,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 4,796 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Universal Technical Institute during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $845,000. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in Universal Technical Institute by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 12,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Universal Technical Institute by 822,000.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.67% of the company’s stock.

Universal Technical Institute Trading Down 4.3 %

Universal Technical Institute stock opened at $25.36 on Friday. Universal Technical Institute, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.66 and a 52 week high of $30.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.49.

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.22. Universal Technical Institute had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 21.25%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Universal Technical Institute, Inc. will post 1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Universal Technical Institute

In other news, EVP Sherrell Smith sold 39,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.85, for a total value of $1,098,571.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 177,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,954,849.20. The trade was a 18.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director George W. Brochick sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $220,720.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $963,360.03. This trade represents a 18.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,219 shares of company stock worth $2,569,895 over the last three months. Company insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Universal Technical Institute from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Northland Securities raised their price target on Universal Technical Institute from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Universal Technical Institute in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $22.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barrington Research boosted their target price on shares of Universal Technical Institute from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.17.

About Universal Technical Institute

Universal Technical Institute, Inc provides transportation, skilled trades, and healthcare education programs in the United States. The company operates in two segments, UTI and Concorde. It offers certificate, diploma, or degree programs under various brands, such as Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, Marine Mechanics Institute, NASCAR Technical Institute, and MIAT College of Technology.