United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Shares Sold by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. trimmed its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,152 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 403 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $2,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at United Rentals

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on United Rentals in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $793.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their target price on United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on United Rentals in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on United Rentals from $494.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $589.21.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $655.97 on Wednesday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $325.15 and a 1-year high of $732.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $680.99 and a 200-day moving average of $568.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $44.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.84.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.85 by $0.41. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.44%.

United Rentals Company Profile

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.