William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 19,715 Shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. $RUSHA

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Rush Enterprises by 1.8%, selling 19,715 shares and now holds around 1.35% of the company's stock valued at approximately $54.1 million.
• Insider trading activity was noted, with COO Jason Wilder and Director Michael Mcroberts selling a total of 10,980 shares, indicating a decrease in their ownership of the company.
• Rush Enterprises announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.19, reflecting a positive shift in its financial policy, with an annualized dividend payout ratio of 21.65%.

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,050,595 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,715 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.35% of Rush Enterprises worth $54,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Rush Enterprises by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 310,294 shares of the company's stock worth $16,573,000 after purchasing an additional 8,106 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Rush Enterprises by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 97,893 shares of the company's stock worth $5,427,000 after purchasing an additional 6,210 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Rush Enterprises by 111.3% during the 1st quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 35,749 shares of the company's stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 18,831 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Rush Enterprises by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,353 shares of the company's stock worth $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Rush Enterprises by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jason Wilder sold 4,980 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total transaction of $276,639.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 79,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,426,890.60. This trade represents a 5.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael Mcroberts sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.64, for a total transaction of $327,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $861,727.44. The trade was a 27.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,480 shares of company stock worth $862,104 over the last three months. Insiders own 12.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on RUSHA. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $61.00.

Rush Enterprises Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RUSHA opened at $50.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.89. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.06 and a fifty-two week high of $65.43.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter. Rush Enterprises had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 13.29%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rush Enterprises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change from Rush Enterprises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. Rush Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.65%.

About Rush Enterprises

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.

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 and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.