Foster & Motley Inc. Increases Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Foster & Motley Inc. increased its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,678 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $4,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in United Rentals by 58,829.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,043,051 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $598,106,000 after buying an additional 1,041,281 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in United Rentals by 19.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 933,428 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $414,974,000 after buying an additional 149,838 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in United Rentals by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 680,217 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,404,000 after buying an additional 10,018 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in United Rentals by 12.7% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 638,958 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $284,061,000 after buying an additional 72,066 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in United Rentals by 9.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 390,872 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $173,770,000 after buying an additional 35,295 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI stock opened at $632.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $42.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.75. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $325.15 and a 1 year high of $732.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $679.24 and a 200 day moving average of $573.90.

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

United Rentals announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is 18.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on URI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $589.21.

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.