Jacob Balslev Meldgaard Sells 379,014 Shares of Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) Stock

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) CEO Jacob Balslev Meldgaard sold 379,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.94, for a total transaction of $12,105,707.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 348,411 shares in the company, valued at $11,128,247.34. The trade was a 52.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Jacob Balslev Meldgaard also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 20th, Jacob Balslev Meldgaard sold 170,133 shares of Torm stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.30, for a total transaction of $5,495,295.90.

Torm Price Performance

Shares of TRMD stock traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $32.70. 1,083,703 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 806,633. Torm Plc has a fifty-two week low of $15.79 and a fifty-two week high of $35.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.38. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.15). Torm had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 24.45%.The company had revenue of $402.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.43 million.

Torm Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. Torm’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TRMD. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Torm from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Pareto Securities lowered shares of Torm from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Torm in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Torm

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TRMD. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Torm during the third quarter worth $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new position in Torm in the second quarter valued at $46,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in Torm in the third quarter valued at $120,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Torm in the fourth quarter valued at $121,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in Torm in the second quarter valued at $190,000. Institutional investors own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

About Torm

Torm A/S (NASDAQ: TRMD) is an international shipping company specializing in the transportation of refined petroleum products. The firm owns and operates a modern fleet of product tankers, including both Handysize and MR vessels, which are designed to carry a broad range of clean petroleum cargoes such as gasoline, jet fuel and diesel. Torm’s core business revolves around voyage and time-charter contracts with major oil companies, trading houses and other energy sector clients around the world.

The company’s fleet is deployed on global trade routes, with particular focus on major refining and consumption regions in Europe, North America and Asia.