Dakota Wealth Management Purchases 3,971 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Dakota Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 77.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,122 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,971 shares during the quarter. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $5,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth $586,415,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Rentals by 104,089.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,341,964 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $476,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340,676 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 58,829.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,043,051 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $598,106,000 after buying an additional 1,041,281 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 672,534 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $238,890,000 after buying an additional 221,613 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,179,328 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,905,379,000 after buying an additional 186,931 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on URI shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $494.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $510.00 to $718.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $793.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $584.07.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI opened at $666.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $680.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $566.65. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $325.15 and a 52-week high of $732.37.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.85 by $0.41. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.05 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is 18.44%.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental company. It operates in two segments, General Rentals and Specialty. The General Rentals segment rents general construction and industrial equipment includes backhoes, skid-steer loaders, forklifts, earthmoving equipment, and material handling equipment; aerial work platforms, such as boom and scissor lifts; and general tools and light equipment comprising pressure washers, water pumps, and power tools for construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and government entities.