Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 67,077 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.68% of Herc worth $36,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Herc by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 6,907 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Herc in the fourth quarter worth $5,377,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Herc by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 665,904 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $106,165,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares during the period. TT International Asset Management LTD grew its position in Herc by 324.6% during the third quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 14,346 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,287,000 after buying an additional 10,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Herc in the 4th quarter worth about $62,982,000. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Herc Price Performance

Shares of Herc stock opened at $122.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.74 and a 52-week high of $246.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $160.31 and a 200-day moving average of $183.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.93.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.40). Herc had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 26.48%. The business had revenue of $934.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $919.84 million. Equities research analysts expect that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Herc’s payout ratio is presently 37.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on HRI. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Herc from $234.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Herc in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Herc presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.20.

Herc Profile

Herc Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental supplier. It rents aerial, earthmoving, material handling, trucks and trailers, air compressors, compaction, and lighting equipment, as well as generators, and safety supplies and expendables; and provides ProSolutions, an industry specific solution based services, such as pumping solutions, power generation, climate control, remediation and restoration, and studio and production equipment.