Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) VP Sells $25,170.00 in Stock

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) VP Michael Wilson sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.95, for a total transaction of $25,170.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,344.60. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. stock opened at $42.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $679.37 million, a PE ratio of 56.69 and a beta of 0.19. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.33 and a 12-month high of $48.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.41.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.54 million. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. had a net margin of 2.11% and a return on equity of 6.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the second quarter valued at $49,541,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. by 15.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 548,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,753,000 after buying an additional 71,423 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,773,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,058,000. Finally, JRM Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $15,916,000. 64.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Company Profile

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells firearms for the commercial sporting market. Its product portfolio includes modern sporting rifles, bolt-action rifles, single-shot rifles, autoloading rifles, shotguns, pistols, and revolvers. The company markets its products primarily under the Ruger brand.

Founded in 1949 by William B. Ruger and Alexander McCormick Sturm, the company has developed a broad lineup serving hunters, sport shooters, firearm collectors, and personal-protection customers.