McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) Shares Acquired by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC - Free Report) by 1,843.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,696 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 86,977 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.37% of McGrath RentCorp worth $10,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MGRC. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in McGrath RentCorp by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 10,575 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. 92.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of McGrath RentCorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Transactions at McGrath RentCorp

In other McGrath RentCorp news, COO Philip B. Hawkins sold 4,804 shares of McGrath RentCorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total value of $497,550.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $326,245.50. The trade was a 60.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph F. Hanna sold 5,567 shares of McGrath RentCorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.89, for a total transaction of $606,190.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 176,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,262,314.33. This trade represents a 3.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,871 shares of company stock valued at $1,506,731 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

McGrath RentCorp Price Performance

McGrath RentCorp stock traded up $3.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $113.74. The company had a trading volume of 134,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,477. McGrath RentCorp has a 1 year low of $95.50 and a 1 year high of $129.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $109.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.41.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.13. McGrath RentCorp had a net margin of 25.44% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The company had revenue of $195.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $189.03 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that McGrath RentCorp will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McGrath RentCorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is a boost from McGrath RentCorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 16th. McGrath RentCorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.10%.

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.