Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Position in The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD) by 265.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,864,386 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,354,891 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Trade Desk were worth $219,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Trade Desk during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Trade Desk by 68.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 287 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Trade Desk during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in shares of Trade Desk by 148.3% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 293 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Trade Desk during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 67.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trade Desk Stock Up 4.3 %

TTD opened at $57.10 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.27 and a 200 day moving average of $107.72. The stock has a market cap of $28.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.21, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.63. The Trade Desk, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.90 and a 52-week high of $141.53.

Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.21). Trade Desk had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 16.38%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Trade Desk, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trade Desk announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $564.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Trade Desk

In related news, insider Samantha Jacobson sold 4,298 shares of Trade Desk stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.56, for a total value of $509,570.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 90,709 shares in the company, valued at $10,754,459.04. The trade was a 4.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey Terry Green sold 18,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.44, for a total transaction of $2,283,886.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 704,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,338,485.76. This trade represents a 2.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Trade Desk to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Trade Desk from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Trade Desk from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Trade Desk from $134.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Benchmark raised Trade Desk from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.41.

Trade Desk Profile

The Trade Desk, Inc operates as a technology company in the United States and internationally. The company offers a self-service cloud-based platform that allows buyers to plan, manage, optimize, and measure data-driven digital advertising campaigns across various ad formats and channels, including video, display, audio, digital-out-of-home, native, and social on various devices, such as computers, mobile devices, televisions, and streaming devices.