First Trust Advisors LP Trims Stock Position in McGrath RentCorp $MGRC

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) by 49.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,512 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in McGrath RentCorp were worth $1,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MGRC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 767.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in McGrath RentCorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in McGrath RentCorp in the 1st quarter valued at $56,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Finally, Palouse Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in McGrath RentCorp in the 4th quarter valued at $152,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.05% of the company’s stock.

McGrath RentCorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ MGRC opened at $119.75 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $116.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.80. McGrath RentCorp has a 12-month low of $94.99 and a 12-month high of $127.68.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.10). McGrath RentCorp had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The business had revenue of $221.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.51 million. Equities analysts forecast that McGrath RentCorp will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McGrath RentCorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were issued a $0.495 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. McGrath RentCorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McGrath RentCorp news, CAO David M. Whitney sold 3,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.65, for a total transaction of $429,937.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $742,475.45. The trade was a 36.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph F. Hanna sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.64, for a total transaction of $904,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 151,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,282,871.36. This trade represents a 4.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 20,051 shares of company stock valued at $2,361,600 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of McGrath RentCorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.50.

McGrath RentCorp Company Profile

McGrath RentCorp, through its subsidiaries, provides rental, sales, and servicing of equipment for commercial, industrial, environmental, and residential markets. The company operates primarily through two segments—mobile storage and water management—offering flexible solutions for customers requiring on-site storage, water transport, treatment, and dewatering services.

In its mobile storage segment, McGrath RentCorp supplies portable storage containers and modular office units to sectors including construction, retail, government, and disaster restoration.