ProShare Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

ProShare Advisors LLC lowered its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,863 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,318 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $10,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 5,518 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in United Rentals by 12.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 348 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in United Rentals by 6.2% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 534 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 2.7% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,362 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,603,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in United Rentals by 29.9% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,844 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on United Rentals from $620.00 to $600.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $972.00 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 assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $925.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Rentals news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,322.12. This represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total value of $1,184,753.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,872 shares in the company, valued at $5,434,996.08. This trade represents a 17.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI opened at $873.08 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $525.91 and a 12-month high of $1,021.47. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $855.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $889.53.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 30.35%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $11.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

United Rentals announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.