Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 79,286 Shares of Reliance, Inc. $RS

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its Reliance stake by 1.3% in Q4, selling 79,286 shares and retaining 6,057,140 shares (about 11.58% of the company) valued at roughly $1.75 billion.
• Reliance beat Q1 expectations with EPS $5.16 (vs. $4.63) and revenue $4.03B (vs. $3.89B), raised Q2 EPS guidance to $5.15–$5.35, and announced a $1.25 quarterly dividend ($5.00 annualized, 1.4% yield).
• Insider selling has been notable—34,175 shares (~$10.97M) sold over three months, including by the SVP and CFO—while analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" rating with a $343 price target amid mixed target upgrades.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,057,140 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 79,286 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.58% of Reliance worth $1,749,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in RS. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Reliance by 899.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 733,528 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $205,997,000 after acquiring an additional 660,128 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in Reliance by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,247,603 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $631,224,000 after acquiring an additional 484,286 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Reliance by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,708,756 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $479,870,000 after acquiring an additional 343,598 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Reliance by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,597,755 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $729,528,000 after acquiring an additional 166,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Reliance by 273.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 155,914 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,941,000 after acquiring an additional 114,215 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on RS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Reliance from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Seaport Research Partners increased their price objective on shares of Reliance from $340.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Reliance in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Reliance from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Reliance from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Reliance has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $343.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Reliance

In other Reliance news, SVP William A. Smith II sold 6,615 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.61, for a total value of $1,975,305.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 21,747 shares in the company, valued at $6,493,871.67. This trade represents a 23.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Arthur Ajemyan sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.12, for a total transaction of $1,253,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 16,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,030,740.80. This trade represents a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 34,175 shares of company stock worth $10,966,902 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Reliance Stock Performance

Shares of Reliance stock opened at $359.33 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 4.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $315.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.38. Reliance, Inc. has a one year low of $260.31 and a one year high of $365.59.

Reliance (NYSE:RS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.63 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. Reliance had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 11.37%. Reliance's revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.77 earnings per share. Reliance has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 5.150-5.350 EPS. Research analysts expect that Reliance, Inc. will post 17.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Reliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Reliance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.62%.

More Reliance News

Here are the key news stories impacting Reliance this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results, guidance and dividend: Reliance reported a solid quarterly beat, raised near‑term EPS guidance (Q2 EPS range provided) and announced a quarterly dividend (supports income and validates cash flow). MarketBeat RS summary
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst moves: several firms lifted price targets (KeyCorp notable upgrade to an overweight/ higher target), which provides some fundamental support and may limit downside even if targets remain varied. MarketBeat analyst notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated “Reliance” headlines — watch for investor confusion: multiple high‑profile articles this week refer to Reliance Industries (India) — e.g., a reported Rs 1.6 lakh crore data‑centre plan and a short‑term share move — none are about NYSE:RS but they can generate misleading headlines and short‑term flow. Reliance Industries spurts RIL data centre report
• Neutral Sentiment: Other market commentary (dividend history, sector headlines) and modest analyst target changes are mixed: some raises but some targets still sit below the current market price — supportive but not unequivocal. MarketBeat coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CFO Arthur Ajemyan sold 3,500 shares at an average ~$358 on April 27, cutting his stake by ~17%. Insider sales can be perceived negatively by the market even if for diversification/tax reasons. SEC Form 4 disclosure

Reliance Profile

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co NYSE: RS is a leading metals service center company that distributes and processes a broad array of metal products. The company offers cut-to-length, shearing, blanking, sawing, bending, machining and value-added services for carbon and alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, titanium and specialty metal alloys. Its products serve diverse end markets, including energy, infrastructure, general manufacturing, transportation, aerospace and defense.

Founded in 1939 in Los Angeles, Reliance Steel & Aluminum has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.

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