Legato Capital Management LLC Buys New Stake in GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX)

Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,839 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in GATX during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,922,000. EULAV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of GATX by 125.0% during the 4th quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 37,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,857,000 after acquiring an additional 21,000 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GATX by 209.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 29,602 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after purchasing an additional 20,045 shares in the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in GATX in the third quarter worth $2,479,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in GATX by 3.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 474,729 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,878,000 after purchasing an additional 17,255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.14% of the company’s stock.

GATX Price Performance

GATX stock opened at $164.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. GATX Co. has a 12 month low of $122.00 and a 12 month high of $168.29. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.74.

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

GATX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. This is an increase from GATX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. GATX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.86%.

Insider Activity

In other GATX news, SVP Jeffery R. Young sold 297 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $48,895.11. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,212,006.06. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert Zmudka sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.83, for a total value of $786,384.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,493 shares in the company, 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 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GATX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of GATX in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Sidoti downgraded GATX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on GATX from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st.

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.