Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 4,142 Shares of Reliance, Inc. $RS

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS) by 3.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 116,337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,142 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Reliance were worth $44,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RS. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Reliance during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Reliance during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Reliance in the second quarter worth $41,000. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. bought a new stake in Reliance in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Reliance in the second quarter worth about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Reliance news, COO Stephen Koch sold 8,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total value of $3,590,870.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 8,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,537,011.83. This represents a 50.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Reliance Stock Down 0.6%

RS stock opened at $441.38 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $403.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $370.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 4.12. Reliance, Inc. has a one year low of $263.12 and a one year high of $454.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.95.

Reliance (NYSE:RS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.83 by $1.19. The business had revenue of $5.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. Reliance had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.38%. The company’s revenue was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Reliance, Inc. will post 24.99 EPS for the current year.

Reliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. Reliance’s dividend payout ratio is 23.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RS. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Reliance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Reliance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Reliance from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Reliance from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Reliance from $391.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $400.29.

Reliance Company Profile

Reliance, Inc (NYSE: RS) is a diversified metals service center company that supplies processed metal products and related services to industrial manufacturers, fabricators, and other commercial customers. Its product offerings include carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, and other specialty metals.

The company provides value-added processing services such as cutting, slitting, leveling, blanking, machining, forming, and precision sawing. These services allow customers to purchase metals in customized sizes and specifications, helping reduce their need for in-house processing and inventory management.

Founded in 1939, Reliance serves a broad range of industries, including nonresidential construction, transportation, aerospace and defense, energy, electronics, machinery, and general manufacturing.