Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Down 7.1% Following Insider Selling

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 7.1% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $141.55 and last traded at $141.96. Approximately 194,067 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 195,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.82.

Specifically, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 5,844 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.33, for a total transaction of $890,216.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 48,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,347,180.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Herc news, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 5,844 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.33, for a total value of $890,216.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 48,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,347,180.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total transaction of $564,009.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,560,647.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Herc from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $152.50.

Herc Trading Down 6.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 2.27. The company's 50-day moving average price is $159.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.29 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $831.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $858.06 million. Herc had a return on equity of 28.68% and a net margin of 10.31%. The business's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 14.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Herc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Herc's payout ratio is presently 21.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Herc by 213.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 235 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Herc by 576.1% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 311 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in Herc by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 359 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Herc during the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Herc during the third quarter worth about $173,000. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.