Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.20 Million Position in GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GATX. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in GATX in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in GATX in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in GATX in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in GATX in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new position in GATX in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 93.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at GATX

In other news, SVP Kevin Hillesland sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.83, for a total transaction of $294,426.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,963.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Kevin Hillesland sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.83, for a total transaction of $294,426.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,963.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert C. Lyons sold 19,300 shares of GATX stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.70, for a total transaction of $2,426,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 44,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,620,047. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,694 shares of company stock valued at $5,040,656. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GATX shares. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of GATX from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of GATX from $122.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of GATX from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th.

GATX Stock Performance

NYSE GATX opened at $129.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $129.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.83. GATX Co. has a 52-week low of $97.21 and a 52-week high of $135.65.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $368.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.32 million. GATX had a net margin of 18.37% and a return on equity of 11.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that GATX Co. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

GATX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is an increase from GATX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. GATX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.45%.

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.