Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 7,589 Shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. $RUSHA

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its position in Rush Enterprises by 10.7% in Q1, now holding about 63,573 shares valued at approximately $3.4 million.
• Other institutional investors, such as Jennison Associates, increased their holdings significantly, with a 73.3% growth in the first quarter, now owning 882,911 shares worth $47.2 million.
• Rush Enterprises announced an increase in their quarterly dividend to $0.19 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $0.76 with a yield of 1.3%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) by 10.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,573 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,589 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of Rush Enterprises worth $3,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Rush Enterprises by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 882,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,156,000 after purchasing an additional 373,531 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Rush Enterprises during the 4th quarter valued at $10,628,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Rush Enterprises during the 1st quarter valued at $9,667,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Rush Enterprises by 116.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 299,038 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,384,000 after purchasing an additional 160,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Rush Enterprises by 423.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 132,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,064,000 after purchasing an additional 106,991 shares during the last quarter. 84.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on RUSHA shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $61.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.25, for a total transaction of $257,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,197.50. This trade represents a 26.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Mcroberts sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.64, for a total transaction of $327,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $861,727.44. This represents a 27.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,480 shares of company stock valued at $862,104. 12.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rush Enterprises Trading Down 0.8%

Rush Enterprises stock traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $55.39. 47,474 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 404,400. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.39. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.06 and a fifty-two week high of $65.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's 50 day moving average is $55.60 and its 200-day moving average is $53.15.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Rush Enterprises had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 13.29%. On average, analysts predict that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Rush Enterprises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Rush Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is 21.65%.

Rush Enterprises Profile

Rush Enterprises, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retailer of commercial vehicles and related services in the United States and Canada. The company operates a network of commercial vehicle dealerships under the Rush Truck Centers name. Its Rush Truck Centers primarily sell commercial vehicles manufactured by Peterbilt, International, Hino, Ford, Isuzu, IC Bus, Blue Bird, and Dennis Eagle.