Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) by 31.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,164 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 45,734 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of Ryder System worth $14,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ryder System during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Ryder System during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Ryder System in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Ryder System by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 265 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ryder System during the second quarter worth approximately $51,000. 87.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on R shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ryder System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ryder System from $148.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Ryder System from $160.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ryder System currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.43.

Ryder System Stock Performance

Shares of R stock opened at $159.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $158.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.60. Ryder System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.62 and a 52 week high of $171.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

Ryder System (NYSE:R) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $3.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. Ryder System had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 3.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ryder System, Inc. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ryder System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Ryder System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ryder System

In other news, insider Thomas M. Havens sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.44, for a total transaction of $629,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,228,149.76. This trade represents 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 accessible through the SEC website. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.