Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Acquires 2,881 Shares of Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) by 15.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,751 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 2,881 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Ryder System were worth $2,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in R. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Ryder System by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,442,545 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $396,099,000 after purchasing an additional 890,986 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ryder System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,647,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Ryder System by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 756,302 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $87,024,000 after acquiring an additional 170,650 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Ryder System by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,223,396 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $627,800,000 after acquiring an additional 109,930 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Ryder System by 242.5% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 92,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,138,000 after purchasing an additional 65,609 shares during the last quarter. 87.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on R shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ryder System from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Ryder System in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Vertical Research upgraded Ryder System from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ryder System from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Ryder System in a research note on Monday, July 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ryder System has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ryder System

In other Ryder System news, EVP Francisco Jr. Lopez sold 12,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.32, for a total value of $1,773,543.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,656,570.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Ryder System Price Performance

R opened at $146.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.85. Ryder System, Inc. has a one year low of $91.31 and a one year high of $148.10.

Ryder System (NYSE:R) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The transportation company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Ryder System had a return on equity of 17.22% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ryder System, Inc. will post 12.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryder System Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from Ryder System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Ryder System’s payout ratio is currently 42.19%.

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.