Findlay Park Partners LLP Takes $180.07 Million Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 158,948 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,071,000. United Rentals makes up approximately 2.4% of Findlay Park Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in United Rentals in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,816,326,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $978,017,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $412,860,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1,667.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 343,965 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $278,378,000 after buying an additional 324,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, W1M Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 2nd quarter valued at $337,323,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on URI shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,270.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,250.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Rentals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on United Rentals from $1,100.00 to $1,235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,246.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI opened at $1,095.21 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,099.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $949.51. The firm has a market cap of $68.17 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The construction company reported $12.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.67% and a return on equity of 31.72%. United Rentals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 48.55 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 18.92%.

United Rentals 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.