Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Stake Trimmed by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 344,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,234 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.44% of Rush Enterprises worth $18,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RUSHA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Rush Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth $10,127,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Rush Enterprises by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 27,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,413 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position in shares of Rush Enterprises by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 468,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,689,000 after buying an additional 121,577 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 80,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,894,000 after purchasing an additional 10,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Rush Enterprises by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 18,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 1,626 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.43% of the company’s stock.

Rush Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of Rush Enterprises stock opened at $56.03 on Thursday. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.99 and a 12 month high of $65.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.86.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. Rush Enterprises had a return on equity of 14.76% and a net margin of 3.90%. On average, research analysts predict that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 EPS for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Rush Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.30%.

Insider Activity at Rush Enterprises

In related news, Director Michael Mcroberts sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.52, for a total transaction of $234,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $922,918.92. This represents a 20.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jody Pollard sold 11,250 shares of Rush Enterprises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.43, for a total value of $634,837.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,892.31. The trade was a 78.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

About Rush Enterprises

Rush Enterprises, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retailer of commercial vehicles and related services in the United States and Canada. The company operates a network of commercial vehicle dealerships under the Rush Truck Centers name. Its Rush Truck Centers primarily sell commercial vehicles manufactured by Peterbilt, International, Hino, Ford, Isuzu, IC Bus, Blue Bird, and Dennis Eagle.