StockNews.com Downgrades McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on MGRC. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on McGrath RentCorp from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. CJS Securities initiated coverage on McGrath RentCorp in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $152.00 target price on the stock.

McGrath RentCorp Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ MGRC traded down $1.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $125.66. 156,364 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 141,875. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.77. McGrath RentCorp has a fifty-two week low of $95.50 and a fifty-two week high of $129.93. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $117.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.31.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.08. McGrath RentCorp had a net margin of 25.44% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The firm had revenue of $243.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.93 million. Equities analysts forecast that McGrath RentCorp will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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McGrath RentCorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This is a positive change from McGrath RentCorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. McGrath RentCorp's payout ratio is presently 20.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McGrath RentCorp news, VP Gilda Malek sold 919 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.78, for a total transaction of $111,915.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McGrath RentCorp

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in McGrath RentCorp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,726,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $304,836,000 after acquiring an additional 29,467 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,896,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $212,116,000 after buying an additional 649,567 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in McGrath RentCorp by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,199,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $134,091,000 after acquiring an additional 87,329 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 917,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $102,610,000 after purchasing an additional 97,290 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 788,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,198,000 after buying an additional 50,674 shares during the last quarter. 92.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About McGrath RentCorp

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.