Clearbridge Investments LLC Acquires 4,732 Shares of McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC)

Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 303,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,732 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 1.24% of McGrath RentCorp worth $33,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in McGrath RentCorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. bought a new position in McGrath RentCorp during the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in McGrath RentCorp in the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. 92.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at McGrath RentCorp

In other news, Director Kimberly Ann Box sold 1,000 shares of McGrath RentCorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total transaction of $124,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,500 shares in the company, valued at $935,175. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MGRC. StockNews.com lowered McGrath RentCorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. CJS Securities started coverage on McGrath RentCorp in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $152.00 price target on the stock.

McGrath RentCorp Trading Up 0.9 %

MGRC opened at $112.40 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $119.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.42. McGrath RentCorp has a 1-year low of $95.50 and a 1-year high of $129.93. The company has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.75.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.93 million. On average, research analysts forecast that McGrath RentCorp will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McGrath RentCorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. This is an increase from McGrath RentCorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. McGrath RentCorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.57%.

McGrath RentCorp 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.