Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 100,164 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 45,734 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ryder System were worth $14,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ryder System by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,360 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Ryder System by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,260 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. James Investment Research Inc. bought a new stake in Ryder System during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,367,000. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Ryder System by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,719 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC increased its stake in Ryder System by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922 shares in the last quarter. 87.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

R has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ryder System from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ryder System from $148.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ryder System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ryder System currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.57.

Ryder System Stock Performance

R opened at $162.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.88 and its 200 day moving average is $135.12. Ryder System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.44 and a 12-month high of $170.20.

Ryder System (NYSE:R) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $3.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. Ryder System had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ryder System, Inc. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ryder System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Ryder System’s payout ratio is 30.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ryder System

In other Ryder System news, insider Thomas M. Havens sold 4,000 shares of Ryder System stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.44, for a total transaction of $629,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,228,149.76. The trade was a 16.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

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.