Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 67,077 Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its holdings in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 192,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 67,077 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Herc were worth $36,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Herc in the fourth quarter worth $183,786,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Herc in the 4th quarter worth about $71,211,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Herc during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,982,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Herc by 578.8% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 231,130 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,760,000 after buying an additional 197,082 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Herc by 110.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 245,544 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $46,489,000 after buying an additional 129,032 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Herc Stock Down 5.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HRI opened at $122.47 on Friday. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.74 and a 12-month high of $246.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99.

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

Herc Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Herc

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.