Capital Research Global Investors Lowers Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Capital Research Global Investors decreased its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 12.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,955,961 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 429,994 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 4.65% of United Rentals worth $2,821,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optas LLC lifted its stake in United Rentals by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.5% during the second quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 6.7% in the third quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 175 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.9% in the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.7% in the third quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 450 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Rentals Price Performance

NYSE:URI opened at $820.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $872.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $885.68. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $525.91 and a 1 year high of $1,021.47.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 30.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $11.59 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on URI shares. Truist Financial set a $972.00 price target on United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on United Rentals from $1,090.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group upgraded United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,025.00 target price for the company in a research report on Sunday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $925.59.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total value of $1,969,938.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,322.12. This trade represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total value of $1,184,753.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,434,996.08. The trade was a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.