American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Position in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 561,995 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 87,330 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.98% of Herc worth $74,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HRI. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Herc by 300.5% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 749 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 15,137.8% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,857 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 6,812 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Herc during the second quarter valued at $584,000. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Herc during the second quarter valued at $4,556,000. Finally, Cannon Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Herc in the 2nd quarter valued at $333,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Stock Performance

Shares of HRI stock opened at $138.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 2.07. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.17 and a 52-week high of $171.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.94 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $848.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $813.05 million. Herc had a return on equity of 26.99% and a net margin of 10.00%. On average, equities analysts expect that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.68 EPS for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herc

In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.03, for a total transaction of $925,713.63. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,632,047.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.03, for a total transaction of $925,713.63. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 35,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,632,047.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.71, for a total transaction of $1,467,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 38,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,609,016.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on HRI shares. StockNews.com downgraded Herc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Herc in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Herc in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.50.

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.