Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 8,106 Shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 310,294 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,106 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.39% of Rush Enterprises worth $16,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RUSHA. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 115.9% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 11,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 5,992 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 6.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 97,893 shares of the company's stock worth $5,427,000 after acquiring an additional 6,210 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 1.8% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 33,792 shares of the company's stock worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its position in Rush Enterprises by 10.6% in the first quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 52,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 5,040 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Rush Enterprises in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Rush Enterprises

In other Rush Enterprises news, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $234,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $651,771. This represents a 26.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jason Wilder sold 748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.08, for a total transaction of $41,947.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 84,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,748,405.76. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,731 shares of company stock valued at $303,634 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.28% of the company's stock.

Rush Enterprises Price Performance

RUSHA traded down $1.73 on Tuesday, reaching $52.15. The company had a trading volume of 378,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,417. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.90 and a 200-day moving average of $54.02. The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a one year low of $45.68 and a one year high of $65.43.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. Rush Enterprises had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 13.82%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Rush Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on RUSHA. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Rush Enterprises from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday.

Rush Enterprises Company 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.