Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,537 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,937 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. worth $2,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rule One Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $9,142,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 11.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 60,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,537,000 after purchasing an additional 6,483 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 51,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 2,733 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the third quarter worth $2,065,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 44,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,918 shares during the period. 64.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE RGR opened at $39.50 on Wednesday. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a one year low of $34.11 and a one year high of $48.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.26 and a 200 day moving average of $38.69. The company has a market capitalization of $662.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31 and a beta of 0.18.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.62. The business had revenue of $145.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $137.77 million. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 9.49%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.24%.

About Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Sturm, Ruger & Co, Inc engages in the business of designing, manufacturing, and selling firearms to domestic customers. It operates under the Firearms and Castings segments. The Firearms segment focuses on manufacturing and selling rifles, pistols, and revolvers principally to a number of federally licensed, independent wholesale distributors.