Peregrine Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,154 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,580 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in GATX were worth $6,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GATX. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of GATX by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,294,895 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $171,509,000 after buying an additional 7,585 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in GATX by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 849,603 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $112,550,000 after acquiring an additional 12,571 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GATX by 3.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 474,729 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,878,000 after purchasing an additional 17,255 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of GATX by 2.2% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 167,651 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $22,206,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of GATX by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 92,861 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,299,000 after purchasing an additional 15,092 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jeffery R. Young sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total transaction of $48,895.11. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,212,006.06. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert Zmudka sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.83, for a total transaction of $786,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,493 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,578.19. The trade was a 39.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

GATX Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE GATX opened at $167.01 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $159.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 3.41 and a current ratio of 2.77. The firm has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 0.99. GATX Co. has a 1 year low of $122.00 and a 1 year high of $168.89.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. GATX had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 17.92%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that GATX Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

GATX Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from GATX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. GATX’s payout ratio is presently 29.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GATX shares. Sidoti cut GATX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on GATX in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company.

GATX Profile

GATX Corporation, together its subsidiaries, operates as railcar leasing company in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and India. It operates through three segments: Rail North America, Rail International, and Portfolio Management. The company leases tank and freight railcars, and locomotives for petroleum, chemical, food/agriculture, and transportation industries.