McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $110.13 and traded as high as $112.56. McGrath RentCorp shares last traded at $110.31, with a volume of 85,826 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MGRC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised McGrath RentCorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of McGrath RentCorp from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, CJS Securities initiated coverage on shares of McGrath RentCorp in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $152.00 price target on the stock.

McGrath RentCorp Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.75.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.48. McGrath RentCorp had a net margin of 25.29% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The firm had revenue of $266.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.76 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. McGrath RentCorp's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that McGrath RentCorp will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McGrath RentCorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. McGrath RentCorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.77%.

Insider Activity

In other McGrath RentCorp news, VP David M. Whitney sold 5,176 shares of McGrath RentCorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total transaction of $605,592.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,985. The trade was a 96.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gilda Malek sold 919 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.78, for a total transaction of $111,915.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,935 shares of company stock worth $5,605,327. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McGrath RentCorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 57.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,111,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $119,456,000 after buying an additional 404,884 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McGrath RentCorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $548,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in McGrath RentCorp by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 578,254 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $60,890,000 after purchasing an additional 6,165 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp during the third quarter worth $1,901,000. 92.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McGrath RentCorp Company Profile

McGrath RentCorp operates as a business to business rental company in the United States and internationally. It rents and sells relocatable modular buildings, portable storage containers, and electronic test equipment. The company operates through four segments: Mobile Modular, Portable Storage, TRS-RenTelco, and Enviroplex.