34,788 Shares in GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 34,788 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,391,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.10% of GATX as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of GATX by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,294,895 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $171,509,000 after acquiring an additional 7,585 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in GATX by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 849,603 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $112,550,000 after purchasing an additional 12,571 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in GATX by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 478,214 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $74,104,000 after purchasing an additional 3,485 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of GATX by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 183,722 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,470,000 after purchasing an additional 5,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of GATX by 19.4% in the third 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Sidoti lowered GATX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other GATX news, VP Robert Zmudka sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,493 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,578.19. This represents a 39.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jeffery R. Young sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $48,895.11. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,362 shares in the company, valued at $1,212,006.06. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

GATX Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of GATX opened at $159.00 on Wednesday. GATX Co. has a 1-year low of $122.00 and a 1-year high of $168.89. The company has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 2.77 and a quick ratio of 3.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.99.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. GATX had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 12.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that GATX Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GATX Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. This is a boost from GATX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. GATX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.40%.

GATX Company 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.