United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Shares Sold by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lowered its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,169 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $5,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp boosted its stake in United Rentals by 1,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 100 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in United Rentals by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in United Rentals during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on United Rentals in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $589.21.

United Rentals Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of URI opened at $628.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.84. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $325.15 and a 12-month high of $732.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $679.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $570.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.85 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. United Rentals’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.13 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a $1.63 dividend. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 18.44%.

United Rentals declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental company. It operates in two segments, General Rentals and Specialty. The General Rentals segment rents general construction and industrial equipment includes backhoes, skid-steer loaders, forklifts, earthmoving equipment, and material handling equipment; aerial work platforms, such as boom and scissor lifts; and general tools and light equipment comprising pressure washers, water pumps, and power tools for construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and government entities.