Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS) Stock Position Lifted by United Capital Management of KS Inc.

United Capital Management of KS Inc. lifted its holdings in Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares during the quarter. Reliance accounts for approximately 1.6% of United Capital Management of KS Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. United Capital Management of KS Inc.’s holdings in Reliance were worth $8,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP bought a new position in Reliance during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Reliance by 157.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Reliance during the third quarter valued at about $78,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Reliance by 1,216.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Providence First Trust Co bought a new position in Reliance during the fourth quarter valued at about $90,000. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Karla R. Lewis sold 31,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 90,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,115,919.60. This represents a 25.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Reliance Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Reliance stock opened at $283.15 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $286.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.85. The company has a market cap of $15.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Reliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $256.98 and a 1 year high of $342.20.

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

Reliance Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RS. Wolfe Research raised Reliance from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. KeyCorp upped 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 initiated coverage on Reliance in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $341.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Reliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.17.

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.