State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. Lowers Stock Position in GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX)

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,623,742 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 37,546 shares during the quarter. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. owned approximately 15.84% of GATX worth $871,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of GATX during the 4th quarter valued at $55,496,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in GATX by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,099,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $170,370,000 after buying an additional 118,306 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in GATX by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 168,747 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,149,000 after acquiring an additional 75,886 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in GATX by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 902,691 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $139,881,000 after acquiring an additional 56,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of GATX during the fourth quarter worth about $5,391,000. Institutional investors own 93.14% of the company’s stock.

GATX Stock Performance

Shares of GATX opened at $155.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $160.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 3.41 and a current ratio of 2.77. The stock has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07 and a beta of 1.00. GATX Co. has a one year low of $122.00 and a one year high of $168.89.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last issued 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 period last year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that GATX Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

GATX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. This is a positive change from GATX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. GATX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert Zmudka sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,227,578.19. This represents a 39.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jeffery R. Young sold 297 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total transaction of $48,895.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,212,006.06. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, 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 research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.