GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) Shares Bought by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) by 144.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in GATX were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in GATX by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 831,625 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $110,074,000 after purchasing an additional 120,149 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in GATX by 2.2% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,118,084 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $412,710,000 after acquiring an additional 68,243 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in GATX by 4.9% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 869,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $115,106,000 after acquiring an additional 40,924 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in GATX in the third quarter valued at $3,922,000. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in GATX by 46.4% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 71,366 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,446,000 after acquiring an additional 22,619 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.14% of the company’s stock.

GATX Stock Performance

NYSE:GATX opened at $154.52 on Friday. GATX Co. has a twelve month low of $114.78 and a twelve month high of $167.74. The company has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $151.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.32.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $405.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.65 million. GATX had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 17.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that GATX Co. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GATX Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. GATX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of GATX in a report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Sidoti cut shares of GATX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on GATX from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.80.

Insider Activity

In other GATX news, major shareholder Farm Mutual Automobile I. State bought 8,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $133.65 per share, for a total transaction of $1,200,711.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 3,312,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $442,688,093.10. This trade represents a 0.27 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

GATX Profile

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.