Jennison Associates LLC Sells 189,478 Shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. $RUSHA

Key Points

• Jennison Associates cut its stake in Rush Enterprises by 31%, selling 189,478 shares in the quarter and now holds 420,939 shares (~0.55% of the company) valued at about $22.7 million.
• Company insiders sold a total of 41,750 shares worth roughly $2.93 million over the last quarter (including sales by SVPs Jody Pollard and Michael L. Goldstone), leaving insiders with 12.68% ownership.
• Rush declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share (annualized $0.76) with an ex-dividend/record date of May 12 and a yield of about 1.0%.

Jennison Associates LLC lowered its stake in Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) by 31.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 420,939 shares of the company's stock after selling 189,478 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.55% of Rush Enterprises worth $22,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 0.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,359,238 shares of the company's stock worth $121,524,000 after buying an additional 6,994 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 14.4% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,179,236 shares of the company's stock worth $63,054,000 after buying an additional 148,363 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 38.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,173,429 shares of the company's stock worth $62,743,000 after buying an additional 326,917 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 15.5% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 785,998 shares of the company's stock worth $42,027,000 after buying an additional 105,450 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 91.9% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 628,855 shares of the company's stock worth $32,392,000 after buying an additional 301,119 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Rush Enterprises from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Rush Enterprises from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Rush Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.67.

Rush Enterprises Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of RUSHA opened at $72.99 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $69.00 and its 200 day moving average is $61.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.93. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.67 and a 12-month high of $76.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. Rush Enterprises had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 3.65%. Research analysts expect that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rush Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Rush Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jody Pollard sold 11,250 shares of Rush Enterprises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.92, for a total transaction of $809,100.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $243,449.20. This trade represents a 76.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 4,500 shares of Rush Enterprises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.86, for a total value of $323,370.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,590 shares in the company, valued at $904,717.40. This trade represents a 26.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 41,750 shares of company stock worth $2,927,290 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.68% of the company's stock.

About Rush Enterprises

Rush Enterprises, Inc, headquartered in New Braunfels, Texas, is a leading distributor of commercial vehicles and related products in the United States. Through its Rush Truck Centers subsidiary, the company sells new and used medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses and specialty vehicles, while also offering factory-authorized parts, collision repair, maintenance and warranty support across its network of dealerships.

Founded in 1965, Rush Enterprises has grown to encompass more than 150 locations in over 20 states, partnering with major manufacturers including Kenworth, Peterbilt, Freightliner, Volvo and Mack.

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 reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.