Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 500 Shares of Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) by 20.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,931 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ryder System were worth $303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in R. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ryder System during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ryder System in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Ryder System in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Ryder System during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Ryder System by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 87.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ryder System Trading Up 3.1 %

Ryder System stock opened at $140.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.23. Ryder System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.88 and a 52 week high of $171.78.

Ryder System (NYSE:R) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.06. Ryder System had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 17.23%. Analysts expect that Ryder System, Inc. will post 13.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Ryder System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Ryder System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Ryder System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Ryder System from $160.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ryder System from $176.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.00.

Ryder System Company Profile

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.