Eley Financial Management Inc Purchases New Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Eley Financial Management Inc purchased a new stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 4,555 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,319,000. United Rentals comprises approximately 1.2% of Eley Financial Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,708,877 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,192,357,000 after purchasing an additional 30,263 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,343,981 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,087,711,000 after purchasing an additional 28,895 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at $978,017,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in United Rentals by 14.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 806,380 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $587,496,000 after purchasing an additional 103,371 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in United Rentals by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 774,347 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $631,459,000 after purchasing an additional 29,675 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of URI stock opened at $1,069.23 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,064.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $924.30. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $701.59 and a one year high of $1,177.67. The firm has a market cap of $66.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The construction company reported $12.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 31.72% and a net margin of 15.67%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 48.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $1,300.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,320.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 target price on shares of United Rentals and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,226.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,500 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,133.15, for a total transaction of $1,699,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,869,155.30. This trade represents a 19.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.