New York State Common Retirement Fund Buys 5,163 Shares of GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,722 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 5,163 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.52% of GATX worth $28,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GATX. State Street Corp increased its stake in GATX by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,294,895 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $171,509,000 after acquiring an additional 7,585 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GATX by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 849,603 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $112,550,000 after purchasing an additional 12,571 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of GATX by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 474,729 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $62,878,000 after purchasing an additional 17,255 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of GATX by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 167,651 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $22,206,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in GATX by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 92,861 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $12,299,000 after buying an additional 15,092 shares during the period. 93.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GATX Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of GATX stock traded down $2.37 on Friday, reaching $161.89. 125,018 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 140,945. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $159.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.73. GATX Co. has a 52 week low of $122.00 and a 52 week high of $168.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84 and a beta of 0.99.

GATX (NYSE:GATX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that GATX Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

GATX Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. 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 dividend yield of 1.51%. GATX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert Zmudka sold 4,800 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jeffery R. Young sold 297 shares of GATX stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 owns 7,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,212,006.06. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GATX shares. Sidoti cut shares of GATX from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $158.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of GATX in a report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $185.00 target price for the company.

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.