United Rentals, Inc. $URI Shares Sold by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,745 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,904 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $16,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 73.3% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,740 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in United Rentals by 4.5% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 103,146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,469,000 after purchasing an additional 4,415 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in United Rentals by 1,358.7% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,227 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,658,000 after purchasing an additional 7,663 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 11.6% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,108 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,695,000 after buying an additional 947 shares during the period. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 70.7% in the third quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 1,707 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

URI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,101.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a report on Monday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 target price on shares of United Rentals and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $996.94.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In related news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $977.86, for a total transaction of $535,867.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,823,708.90. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total transaction of $292,226.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,479,732.62. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Performance

NYSE:URI opened at $961.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $818.01 and a 200-day moving average of $839.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $681.98 and a twelve month high of $1,021.47.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.47 by ($1.76). The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Company Profile

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.