First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 15.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,647 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,552 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $45,487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in United Rentals by 650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 30 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,025.00 target price on the stock in a report on Sunday, January 4th. Truist Financial set a $972.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $965.00 price objective on United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $925.59.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In related news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total transaction of $1,184,753.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,434,996.08. This represents a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total transaction of $1,969,938.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,322.12. This represents a 25.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI stock opened at $780.64 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $871.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $883.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $525.91 and a 52 week high of $1,021.47.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.86 by ($0.77). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.35% and a net margin of 15.49%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $11.59 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is 20.37%.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc (NYSE: URI) is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm provides rental solutions and related services to construction, industrial, commercial, and municipal customers. Its business model centers on providing access to a broad fleet of equipment on a short-term or long-term basis, enabling customers to avoid the capital expenditure of ownership and to scale equipment use to match project needs.

The company’s product and service offerings span general construction equipment and a range of specialty categories, including aerial work platforms, earthmoving and excavation machines, material handling equipment, pumps, power and HVAC systems, trench and shoring solutions, and tools.