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

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,302,218 shares of the company's stock worth $69,552,000 after acquiring an additional 79,499 shares in the last quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC raised its position in shares of Rush Enterprises by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 1,073,567 shares of the company's stock worth $58,821,000 after buying an additional 5,823 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Rush Enterprises by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 785,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,026,000 after purchasing an additional 43,437 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Rush Enterprises by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 742,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,709,000 after purchasing an additional 26,254 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 677,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,134,000 after acquiring an additional 13,745 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.43% of the company's stock.

Rush Enterprises Price Performance

Rush Enterprises stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $53.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 434,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,584. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $50.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.70 and a twelve month high of $65.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.88.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.73 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.86 billion. Research analysts forecast that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Rush Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is 20.11%.

Insider Transactions at Rush Enterprises

In other news, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 12,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $651,771. This trade represents a 26.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jason Wilder sold 748 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.08, for a total transaction of $41,947.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 84,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,748,405.76. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,731 shares of company stock valued at $303,634 in the last ninety days. 12.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RUSHA. Stephens lowered their target price on Rush Enterprises from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Rush Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th.

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.