United Rentals, Inc. $URI Shares Bought by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 405,245 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.64% of United Rentals worth $386,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in URI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,494,303 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,646,208,000 after purchasing an additional 72,267 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in United Rentals by 71.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,874,127 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,411,968,000 after buying an additional 780,322 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 6.1% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,231,108 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $927,517,000 after buying an additional 70,870 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 3.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,030,232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $776,177,000 after buying an additional 36,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the 2nd quarter valued at $776,102,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $965.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $925.59.

United Rentals Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:URI opened at $780.64 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.66. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $525.91 and a 12-month high of $1,021.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $871.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $883.86. 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 (NYSE:URI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.86 by ($0.77). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 30.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $11.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is 20.37%.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,458 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,322.12. This trade represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of United Rentals 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,434,996.08. The trade was a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.