Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Makes New $689,000 Investment in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,202 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $689,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of URI. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,051 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $239,719,000 after purchasing an additional 6,655 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in United Rentals by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 615 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $604,000. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC bought a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $454,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total value of $5,862,199.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,341,742. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,713 shares of company stock valued at $6,747,384. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:URI traded up $3.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $677.84. 437,999 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 582,444. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $683.58 and a 200 day moving average of $592.43. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $325.91 and a one year high of $732.37. The company has a market cap of $45.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.89.

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

United Rentals declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on URI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of United Rentals in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $600.79.

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.