John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Purchases 4,900 Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,871 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 4,900 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Herc worth $5,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,203 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,609 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 2,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 1,498 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Herc by 90.9% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 315 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRI traded down $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $150.09. The stock had a trading volume of 254,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 190,783. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.97 and a 12-month high of $171.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.84.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.29 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $831.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $858.06 million. Herc had a return on equity of 30.21% and a net margin of 10.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. This is a positive change from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total transaction of $564,009.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,560,647.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HRI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Herc has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.50.

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.