Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) Shares Sold by Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. reduced its position in shares of Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R - Free Report) by 66.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,068 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 4,088 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.'s holdings in Ryder System were worth $324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of R. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Ryder System by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,780 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,196,000 after buying an additional 3,344 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Ryder System in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,242,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Ryder System by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 362 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ryder System by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Ryder System by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,962 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. 87.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ryder System Trading Down 0.5%

Ryder System stock traded down $0.79 during trading on Thursday, hitting $150.38. The company had a trading volume of 264,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 318,441. Ryder System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.58 and a 1-year high of $171.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $142.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.37. The stock has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 0.94.

Ryder System (NYSE:R - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. Ryder System had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 17.23%. The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ryder System, Inc. will post 13.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryder System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Ryder System's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Ryder System from $174.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ryder System from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Ryder System from $168.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ryder System

In related news, Director E Follin Smith sold 1,243 shares of Ryder System stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.38, for a total transaction of $179,464.34. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 39,802 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,612.76. This trade represents a 3.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert E. Sanchez sold 18,496 shares of Ryder System stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.73, for a total transaction of $2,880,382.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 40,824 shares in the company, valued at $6,357,521.52. This represents a 31.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ryder System Company Profile

Ryder System, Inc operates as a logistics and transportation company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Fleet Management Solutions (FMS), Supply Chain Solutions (SCS), and Dedicated Transportation Solutions (DTS). The FMS segment offers full-service leasing and leasing with flexible maintenance options; commercial vehicle rental services; and contract or transactional maintenance services of trucks, tractors, and trailers; access to diesel fuel; and fuel planning and tax reporting, cards, and monitoring services, and centralized billing, as well as sells used vehicles through its retail sales centers and www.ryder.com/used-trucks website, as well as digital and technology support services.