New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $28.47 Million Stock Position in GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 183,722 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,163 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.52% of GATX worth $28,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in GATX by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,294,895 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $171,509,000 after acquiring an additional 7,585 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in GATX by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 849,603 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $112,550,000 after acquiring an additional 12,571 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in GATX by 3.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 17,255 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in GATX by 2.2% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 167,651 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $22,206,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in GATX by 19.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 92,861 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,299,000 after acquiring an additional 15,092 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.14% of the company’s stock.

GATX Stock Down 0.9 %

GATX stock opened at $164.40 on Friday. GATX Co. has a twelve month low of $122.00 and a twelve month high of $168.89. The company has a quick ratio of 3.41, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $159.38 and its 200-day moving average is $148.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16 and a beta of 0.99.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that GATX Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GATX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. GATX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert Zmudka sold 4,800 shares of GATX 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 directly owns 7,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,227,578.19. This trade represents a 39.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jeffery R. Young sold 297 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,212,006.06. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GATX. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on GATX in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Sidoti cut GATX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.