Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Stake in Reliance, Inc. $RS

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its position in Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 166,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,021 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.32% of Reliance worth $46,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners grew its stake in Reliance by 72.6% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $552,461,000 after acquiring an additional 741,417 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Reliance during the 2nd quarter worth $207,741,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Reliance during the second quarter worth $72,373,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Reliance by 273.9% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 155,914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,941,000 after purchasing an additional 114,215 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Reliance in the second quarter valued at $20,658,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Karla R. Lewis sold 5,809 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.50, for a total value of $1,646,851.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 84,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,933,353.50. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Stephen Paul Koch sold 3,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.56, for a total transaction of $869,394.96. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,975,794.76. This trade represents a 17.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Reliance Stock Performance

NYSE RS opened at $343.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 4.43 and a quick ratio of 2.08. Reliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $250.07 and a 1-year high of $365.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $313.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $293.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on RS shares. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Reliance in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Reliance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Reliance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Reliance from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Reliance from $284.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.25.

About Reliance

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co (NYSE: RS) is a leading metals service center company that distributes and processes a broad array of metal products. The company offers cut-to-length, shearing, blanking, sawing, bending, machining and value-added services for carbon and alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, titanium and specialty metal alloys. Its products serve diverse end markets, including energy, infrastructure, general manufacturing, transportation, aerospace and defense.

Founded in 1939 in Los Angeles, Reliance Steel & Aluminum has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.