Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) by 38.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 570 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 360 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Ryder System were worth $66,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ryder System by 13.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 193,131 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,322,000 after acquiring an additional 23,111 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new position in shares of Ryder System during the first quarter valued at $290,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ryder System by 33.3% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 34,694 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after acquiring an additional 8,674 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in shares of Ryder System by 10.5% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 19,678 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in shares of Ryder System by 12.5% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 32,930 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 3,652 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ryder System news, CMO Karen M. Jones sold 7,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.48, for a total value of $877,994.76. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,698.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Ryder System Price Performance

NYSE R opened at $111.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $114.91 and a 200 day moving average of $110.26. Ryder System, Inc. has a one year low of $76.15 and a one year high of $121.58.

Ryder System (NYSE:R) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The transportation company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. Ryder System had a return on equity of 19.68% and a net margin of 3.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ryder System, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Ryder System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. Ryder System’s payout ratio is 32.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

R has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of Ryder System in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ryder System from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Ryder System from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Ryder System in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded Ryder System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.00.

About Ryder System

Ryder System, Inc operates as a logistics and transportation company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Fleet Management Solutions (FMS), Supply Chain Solutions (SCS), and Dedicated Transportation Solutions (DTS). The FMS segment offers full-service leasing and leasing with flexible maintenance options; commercial vehicle rental services; and contract or transactional maintenance services of trucks, tractors, and trailers; access to diesel fuel; and fuel planning and tax reporting, cards, and monitoring services, and centralized billing, as well as sells used vehicles through its retail sales centers and www.ryder.com/used-trucks website, as well as digital and technology support services.