United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Position Cut by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,710 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 327 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $1,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 6.4% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,351,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 0.6% in the third quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 9,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,218,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 6,413 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,677,000 after acquiring an additional 2,289 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on URI shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on United Rentals from $793.00 to $796.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $600.79.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $674.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $44.94 billion, a PE ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.82. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $325.91 and a 12 month high of $732.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $683.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $592.43.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.35 by $0.80. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.44 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.44% and a net margin of 17.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 17.66%.

United Rentals announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total transaction of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total transaction of $508,105.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $674.56, for a total transaction of $377,079.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,431,557.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,713 shares of company stock valued at $6,747,384 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Profile

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.