MML Investors Services LLC Sells 314 Shares of Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS)

MML Investors Services LLC decreased its position in Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS) by 25.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 314 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Reliance were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Reliance by 78.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 289,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,816,000 after acquiring an additional 127,422 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Reliance by 27,269.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 112,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,453,000 after purchasing an additional 111,803 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Reliance by 19.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 472,730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $136,718,000 after buying an additional 77,937 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Reliance by 68.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 139,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,391,000 after buying an additional 56,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Reliance by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,168,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $333,809,000 after acquiring an additional 53,747 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Reliance Stock Up 0.3 %

RS opened at $270.98 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $301.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Reliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $256.98 and a 52 week high of $342.20.

Reliance (NYSE:RS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by ($0.02). Reliance had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.00 earnings per share. Reliance’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Reliance, Inc. will post 16.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Reliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Reliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on RS. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Reliance from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Reliance from $340.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Reliance in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $341.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Reliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $328.83.

Insider Activity at Reliance

In other news, SVP William A. Smith II sold 6,500 shares of Reliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.71, for a total value of $2,091,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,420,491.79. The trade was a 27.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Karla R. Lewis sold 3,892 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.90, for a total value of $1,260,618.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,117 shares in the company, valued at $27,569,396.30. The trade was a 4.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,724 shares of company stock valued at $6,856,500 over the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Reliance Profile

Reliance, Inc operates as a diversified metal solutions provider and the metals service center company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company distributes a line of approximately 100,000 metal products, including alloy, aluminum, brass, copper, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and specialty steel products; and provides metals processing services to general manufacturing, non-residential construction, transportation, aerospace, energy, electronics and semiconductor fabrication, and heavy industries.