Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Trims Stock Position in Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lowered its stake in shares of Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS) by 20.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,428 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.06% of Reliance worth $8,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Reliance by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Reliance by 4.1% in the third quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 86,406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,989,000 after acquiring an additional 3,419 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Reliance by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 127,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Reliance by 232.9% in the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after acquiring an additional 6,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Reliance in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,600,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Reliance Stock Performance

NYSE RS opened at $283.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Reliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $256.98 and a 52-week high of $342.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $286.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.85. The firm has a market cap of $15.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34 and a beta of 0.87.

Reliance (NYSE:RS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by ($0.52). The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Reliance had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 11.87%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Reliance, Inc. will post 16.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Reliance Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. This is an increase from Reliance’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Reliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on RS. Wolfe Research upgraded Reliance from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Reliance from $321.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Reliance in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $341.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.17.

Insider Activity at Reliance

In related news, CEO Karla R. Lewis sold 31,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.52, for a total value of $9,356,990.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,230 shares in the company, valued at $27,115,919.60. This trade represents a 25.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Reliance Company Profile

Reliance, Inc operates as a diversified metal solutions provider and the metals service center company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company distributes a line of approximately 100,000 metal products, including alloy, aluminum, brass, copper, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and specialty steel products; and provides metals processing services to general manufacturing, non-residential construction, transportation, aerospace, energy, electronics and semiconductor fabrication, and heavy industries.