Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 203 Shares of McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 203 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in McGrath RentCorp were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 57.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,111,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $119,456,000 after purchasing an additional 404,884 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 755,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,546,000 after purchasing an additional 47,872 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 593,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,432,000 after purchasing an additional 12,520 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 578,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,890,000 after purchasing an additional 6,165 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its holdings in McGrath RentCorp by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 325,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,342,000 after acquiring an additional 75,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McGrath RentCorp

In related news, Director Kimberly Ann Box sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total transaction of $124,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $935,175. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Gilda Malek sold 919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.78, for a total value of $111,915.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MGRC. CJS Securities began coverage on McGrath RentCorp in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $152.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on McGrath RentCorp from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised McGrath RentCorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

McGrath RentCorp Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of MGRC opened at $111.95 on Friday. McGrath RentCorp has a 1 year low of $95.50 and a 1 year high of $129.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.33. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.75.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.08. McGrath RentCorp had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 25.44%. The business had revenue of $243.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $246.93 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McGrath RentCorp will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McGrath RentCorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This is a boost from McGrath RentCorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. McGrath RentCorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.57%.

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.