Great Lakes Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in 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 lessened its position in Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) by 10.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,573 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,589 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Rush Enterprises worth $3,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 73.3% in the first 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 stake in Rush Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth about $10,628,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rush Enterprises in the 1st quarter valued at about $9,667,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 116.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 299,038 shares of the company's stock worth $16,384,000 after purchasing an additional 160,922 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 423.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 132,259 shares of the company's stock worth $7,064,000 after purchasing an additional 106,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Rush Enterprises in a report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $61.00.

Insider Transactions at Rush Enterprises

In other Rush Enterprises news, Director Michael Mcroberts sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $861,727.44. The trade was a 27.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jason Wilder sold 4,980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total transaction of $276,639.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 79,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,426,890.60. This trade represents a 5.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,480 shares of company stock worth $862,104. 12.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rush Enterprises Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RUSHA opened at $56.71 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.88. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.30 and a 1-year high of $65.43.

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

Rush Enterprises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Rush Enterprises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Rush Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RUSHA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.