Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Holdings in Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 12,400 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,427,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Ryder System by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 438 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Ryder System by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 745 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Ryder System by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,644 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Ryder System by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,854 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Ryder System by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,237 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,416,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen M. Jones sold 7,737 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.48, for a total transaction of $877,994.76. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,698.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ryder System Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of R traded up $1.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $108.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 306,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 184,051. Ryder System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.15 and a 12-month high of $121.58. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company's 50 day moving average is $114.39 and its 200 day moving average is $110.36.

Ryder System (NYSE:R - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The transportation company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Ryder System had a return on equity of 19.68% and a net margin of 3.45%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.89 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ryder System, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryder System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Ryder System's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

R has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ryder System from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com lowered Ryder System from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $122.00 price target on shares of Ryder System in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ryder System from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Ryder System from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $120.00.

About Ryder System

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.