Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires New Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 9,378 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,624,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,133.15, for a total transaction of $1,699,725.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,869,155.30. This trade represents a 19.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

URI has been the topic of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,320.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,335.00 price objective on United Rentals and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $1,270.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised United Rentals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $715.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,246.19.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI stock opened at $1,116.17 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,098.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $946.28. The company has a market cap of $69.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.81, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.80. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $701.59 and a 12 month high of $1,179.18.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The construction company reported $12.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.53 by $1.23. The company 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%.United Rentals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 48.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

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.