Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 4,817 Shares of Reliance, Inc. $RS

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,817 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Reliance were worth $7,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RS. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Reliance by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,364,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Reliance by 4.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Reliance by 99.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Reliance by 1.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,306,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Reliance by 6.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 229,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,015,000 after acquiring an additional 13,268 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Reliance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Reliance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Reliance from $315.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Reliance from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $340.00 to $320.00 in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Reliance in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Reliance presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $328.50.

Insider Transactions at Reliance

In other news, SVP William A. Smith II sold 6,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.61, for a total transaction of $1,975,305.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 21,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,493,871.67. The trade was a 23.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stephen Paul Koch sold 24,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.62, for a total transaction of $7,738,177.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 14,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,509,434.02. This trade represents a 63.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Reliance Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:RS opened at $299.42 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $320.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 4.88. Reliance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $250.07 and a fifty-two week high of $365.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.91.

Reliance (NYSE:RS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. Reliance had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The company’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Reliance has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Reliance, Inc. will post 16.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Reliance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Reliance’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Reliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

Reliance Profile

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co (NYSE: RS) is a leading metals service center company that distributes and processes a broad array of metal products. The company offers cut-to-length, shearing, blanking, sawing, bending, machining and value-added services for carbon and alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, titanium and specialty metal alloys. Its products serve diverse end markets, including energy, infrastructure, general manufacturing, transportation, aerospace and defense.

Founded in 1939 in Los Angeles, Reliance Steel & Aluminum has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.