United Rentals, Inc. $URI Holdings Cut by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 59.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,877 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 58,689 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $38,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,494,303 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,646,208,000 after acquiring an additional 72,267 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in United Rentals by 22.8% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,402,524 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,247,762,000 after purchasing an additional 631,484 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in United Rentals by 6.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,678,614 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,557,158,000 after purchasing an additional 168,685 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in United Rentals by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,874,127 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,411,968,000 after purchasing an additional 780,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in United Rentals by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,231,108 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $927,517,000 after purchasing an additional 70,870 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,872 shares in the company, valued at $5,434,996.08. This represents a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total value of $1,969,938.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,322.12. This represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on United Rentals from $1,090.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial set a $972.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,025.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Sunday, January 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $925.59.

United Rentals Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of URI stock opened at $820.50 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $872.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $885.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.94. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $525.91 and a twelve month high of $1,021.47. The company has a market capitalization of $51.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.66.

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

United Rentals declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $1.97 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

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.