Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Invests $3.66 Million in McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 32,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,657,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of McGrath RentCorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MGRC. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 351.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,269,000 after acquiring an additional 31,575 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp in the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 21,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,453,000 after buying an additional 2,506 shares during the period. 92.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

McGrath RentCorp Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of McGrath RentCorp stock opened at $115.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.40. McGrath RentCorp has a 12 month low of $95.50 and a 12 month high of $129.93.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $195.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.03 million. McGrath RentCorp had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 25.44%. McGrath RentCorp’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Analysts expect that McGrath RentCorp will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McGrath RentCorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from McGrath RentCorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. McGrath RentCorp’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised McGrath RentCorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

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.