GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) by 30.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 36,778 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of GATX worth $10,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of GATX by 1.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 378,274 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $50,068,000 after acquiring an additional 5,686 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of GATX by 76.2% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 37,134 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,915,000 after purchasing an additional 16,054 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of GATX by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,344 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of GATX by 1.7% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in GATX by 9.6% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 164,071 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $21,716,000 after purchasing an additional 14,326 shares in the last quarter. 93.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at GATX

In other GATX news, major shareholder Farm Mutual Automobile I. State bought 8,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $133.65 per share, with a total value of $1,200,711.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,312,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $442,688,093.10. The trade was a 0.27 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

GATX Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GATX opened at $155.43 on Monday. GATX Co. has a 1 year low of $114.78 and a 1 year high of $167.74. The firm has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $153.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 3.41 and a current ratio of 3.41.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.54. GATX had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The firm had revenue of $405.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.65 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that GATX Co. will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GATX Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. GATX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on GATX. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on GATX in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of GATX from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Sidoti lowered GATX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.80.

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.