EP Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 18,278 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,707,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in United Rentals in the second quarter valued at about $5,816,326,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1.1% during the fourth 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. lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,343,981 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,087,711,000 after purchasing an additional 28,895 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth about $978,017,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 103,371 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on United Rentals from $1,270.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,335.00 price target on United Rentals and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of United Rentals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Argus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,250.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,246.19.

United Rentals Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $1,095.21 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $701.59 and a 1-year high of $1,179.18. The company has a market capitalization of $68.17 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,099.22 and a 200-day moving average of $949.51.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The construction company reported $12.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 31.72% and a net margin of 15.67%.The company’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 48.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.97 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 18.92%.

Insider Activity

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

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.