Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) VP Michael Wilson Sells 600 Shares

Key Points

• Insider sale: VP Michael Wilson sold 600 RGR shares at an average price of $40, reducing his direct holdings by 32.82% to 1,228 shares. The transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• Stock and financial performance: RGR shares recently traded at $41.24, up 0.7%. The company beat quarterly earnings expectations with $0.52 EPS and revenue of $158.06 million, up 19.3% year over year.
• Dividend and analyst view: Sturm, Ruger increased its quarterly dividend to $0.21, representing a 2.0% yield, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating with a $46 price target.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) VP Michael Wilson sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $24,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,120. This trade represents a 32.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE RGR traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $41.24. 185,699 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 154,909. The company has a market cap of $659.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.99 and a beta of 0.19. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $38.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.20. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a one year low of $28.33 and a one year high of $48.21.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.10. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 6.58% and a net margin of 2.11%.The firm had revenue of $158.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 112.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RGR. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Institutional Trading of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RGR. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 0.9% in the first quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 94,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,770,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,956 shares of the company's stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,456 shares during the period. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 36,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 2,830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.00% of the company's stock.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Company Profile

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells firearms for the commercial sporting market. Its product portfolio includes modern sporting rifles, bolt-action rifles, single-shot rifles, autoloading rifles, shotguns, pistols, and revolvers. The company markets its products primarily under the Ruger brand.

Founded in 1949 by William B. Ruger and Alexander McCormick Sturm, the company has developed a broad lineup serving hunters, sport shooters, firearm collectors, and personal-protection customers.

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