Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,949,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,885 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of GATX worth $612,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GATX. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of GATX by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,099,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $170,370,000 after buying an additional 118,306 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in GATX by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 902,691 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $139,881,000 after acquiring an additional 56,041 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in GATX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,391,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GATX in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,562,000. Finally, EULAV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of GATX by 125.0% in the 4th quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 37,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,857,000 after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.14% of the company’s stock.

GATX Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GATX opened at $155.94 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 3.41 and a current ratio of 2.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07 and a beta of 1.00. GATX Co. has a fifty-two week low of $122.00 and a fifty-two week high of $168.89.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. GATX had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 12.07%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that GATX Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GATX Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is a positive change from GATX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. GATX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Sidoti downgraded shares of GATX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Transactions at GATX

In other news, SVP Jeffery R. Young sold 297 shares of GATX stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $48,895.11. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,212,006.06. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert Zmudka sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.83, for a total transaction of $786,384.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,227,578.19. This represents a 39.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.17% of the company’s stock.

About GATX

GATX Corporation, together its subsidiaries, operates as railcar leasing company in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and India. It operates through three segments: Rail North America, Rail International, and Portfolio Management. The company leases tank and freight railcars, and locomotives for petroleum, chemical, food/agriculture, and transportation industries.