Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Reliance, Inc. $RS

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS) by 4.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 755,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 30,765 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Reliance were worth $212,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Reliance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,576,000. First National Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Reliance in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,948,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in Reliance by 293.0% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 34,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,814,000 after purchasing an additional 26,055 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Reliance by 31.3% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 29,964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,406,000 after buying an additional 7,146 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Reliance by 144.9% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,252,000 after buying an additional 11,064 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Reliance

In other Reliance news, COO Stephen Paul Koch sold 3,066 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.56, for a total value 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 represents a 17.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,646,851.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 84,421 shares in the company, valued at $23,933,353.50. The trade was a 6.44% 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on RS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Reliance from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Reliance in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Reliance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Reliance from $340.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $317.25.

Reliance Stock Performance

Shares of Reliance stock opened at $328.81 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $300.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 4.43. Reliance, Inc. has a one year low of $250.07 and a one year high of $347.43. The company has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.92.

Reliance 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.