Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 6,304 Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) by 97.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,805 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 6,304 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Herc were worth $2,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,066,892 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $580,655,000 after purchasing an additional 27,578 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 435.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,419,015 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $268,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,182 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,245,168 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $235,748,000 after purchasing an additional 508,359 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Herc in the 4th quarter worth about $183,786,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 812,270 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $153,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,777 shares in the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Herc from $129.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $146.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Herc in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Herc from $225.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on Herc from $250.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Herc from $165.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.20.

Herc Trading Down 0.7%

HRI traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $124.39. 132,682 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 380,998. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $124.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.19 and a 52 week high of $246.88.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($1.21). The business had revenue of $861.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $841.67 million. Herc had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 26.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Herc's payout ratio is 62.36%.

Herc Company 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.