KBC Group NV Sells 43,574 Shares of Reliance, Inc. $RS

KBC Group NV lessened its position in shares of Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS) by 40.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 43,574 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.13% of Reliance worth $19,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Reliance by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Reliance by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Reliance by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 786 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Reliance by 27.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Reliance by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Reliance from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America lowered Reliance from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Reliance from $376.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Reliance from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners boosted their price target on Reliance from $340.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Reliance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $363.50.

Reliance Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RS opened at $382.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.97. Reliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $260.31 and a 1 year high of $419.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $385.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $345.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

Reliance (NYSE:RS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.63 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.89 billion. Reliance had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 11.37%. Reliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.77 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Reliance, Inc. will post 19.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Arthur Ajemyan sold 3,500 shares of Reliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.12, for a total transaction of $1,253,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 16,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,030,740.80. This trade represents a 17.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Reliance Company Profile

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.