Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) by 112.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,063 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RGR. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,011,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,469,000 after purchasing an additional 24,588 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,942,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,644,000 after acquiring an additional 39,325 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,040,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,459,000 after acquiring an additional 10,201 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 610,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,338,000 after acquiring an additional 2,836 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 4.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 561,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,250,000 after acquiring an additional 23,785 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.00% of the company’s stock.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of RGR stock opened at $46.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $814.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 0.32. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a one year low of $42.00 and a one year high of $58.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.10.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.09). Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 14.59% and a net margin of 8.87%. The firm had revenue of $130.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $133.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. This is a positive change from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher John Killoy sold 3,664 shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.03, for a total transaction of $164,989.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,380,691.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,388 shares of company stock valued at $340,018. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

About Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells firearms under the Ruger name and trademark in the United States. The company operates through two segments: Firearms and Castings. It provides single-shot, autoloading, bolt-action, and modern sporting rifles; rimfire and centerfire autoloading pistols; single-action and double-action revolvers; and firearms accessories and replacement parts, as well as manufactures lever-action rifles under the Marlin name and trademark.