Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) Director E Follin Smith Sells 5,523 Shares

Key Points

• E Follin Smith, a director at Ryder System, sold 5,523 shares at an average price of $177.66, marking a 14.05% decrease in their ownership.
• Ryder System reported $3.32 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.81 to $0.91 per share.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Ryder System's stock, with updated targets reaching $215.00 and overall ratings leaning towards a "Moderate Buy."

Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R - Get Free Report) Director E Follin Smith sold 5,523 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.66, for a total value of $981,216.18. Following the sale, the director owned 33,779 shares in the company, valued at $6,001,177.14. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

E Follin Smith also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, July 30th, E Follin Smith sold 500 shares of Ryder System stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $90,000.00.
• On Monday, May 5th, E Follin Smith sold 1,243 shares of Ryder System stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.38, for a total value of $179,464.34.

Ryder System Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:R traded up $0.74 on Tuesday, reaching $176.31. 73,909 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 382,497. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27. Ryder System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.54 and a 12 month high of $184.76. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $162.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 1.00.

Ryder System (NYSE:R - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $3.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.21. Ryder System had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.00 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ryder System, Inc. will post 13.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryder System Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Ryder System's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Ryder System's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryder System

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ryder System during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,475,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Ryder System by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,928 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new position in Ryder System during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $557,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ryder System by 41.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Ryder System by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 73,785 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $11,574,000 after purchasing an additional 6,908 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on R. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ryder System from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Ryder System in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ryder System from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $159.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ryder System to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Ryder System from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ryder System has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.50.

About Ryder System

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.