Merit Financial Group LLC Takes $223,000 Position in Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,551 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in R. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ryder System during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ryder System by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Ryder System during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ryder System during the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Group One Trading LLC lifted its position in shares of Ryder System by 553.0% during the fourth quarter. Group One Trading LLC now owns 653 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. 87.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on R. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Ryder System from $168.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Ryder System from $174.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ryder System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Ryder System in a report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.71.

Ryder System Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE R opened at $149.60 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.09. Ryder System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.58 and a fifty-two week high of $171.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Ryder System (NYSE:R) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. Ryder System had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 17.23%. The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Ryder System, Inc. will post 13.68 EPS for the current year.

Ryder System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Ryder System’s dividend payout ratio is 28.25%.

Insider Transactions at Ryder System

In related news, Director E Follin Smith sold 1,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.38, for a total value of $179,464.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 39,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,612.76. This trade represents a 3.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert E. Sanchez sold 18,496 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.73, for a total transaction of $2,880,382.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 40,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,357,521.52. This trade represents a 31.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ryder System 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.