Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 141,426 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock after selling 32,000 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Lyft were worth $2,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lyft by 84.8% in the third quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 6,186,000 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $78,872,000 after acquiring an additional 2,838,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Lyft by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,408,466 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $121,369,000 after buying an additional 2,302,248 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lyft by 7,536.2% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,854,823 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $23,927,000 after buying an additional 1,830,533 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Lyft by 27.2% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 8,114,166 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $103,456,000 after buying an additional 1,735,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Lyft in the 3rd quarter worth about $13,430,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LYFT shares. Citigroup reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lyft in a report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Lyft from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Lyft from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lyft news, Director Logan Green sold 11,411 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.34, for a total transaction of $152,222.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 297,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,970,517.60. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of Lyft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $30,348.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 911,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,417,263.44. This represents a 0.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,407 shares of company stock valued at $203,778. Insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Lyft Stock Performance

Lyft stock opened at $12.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.88 and its 200 day moving average is $13.84. The company has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 203.83, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.15. Lyft, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.93 and a twelve month high of $19.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.10). Lyft had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 8.03%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lyft, Inc. will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lyft declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the ride-sharing company to purchase up to 8.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Lyft

Lyft, Inc operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ridesharing in the United States and Canada. It operates multimodal transportation networks that offer access to various transportation options through the Lyft platform and mobile-based applications. The company's platform provides a ridesharing marketplace, which connects drivers with riders; Express Drive, a car rental program for drivers; and a network of shared bikes and scooters in various cities to address the needs of riders for short trips.