Flputnam Investment Management Co. Reduces Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

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

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 186,931 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in United Rentals by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,756,009 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $624,121,000 after buying an additional 170,958 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $586,415,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in United Rentals by 2.8% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,441,997 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $569,394,000 after buying an additional 39,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $476,961,000 after buying an additional 1,340,676 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial started coverage on United Rentals in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $793.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on United Rentals from $494.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $589.21.

United Rentals Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:URI opened at $655.97 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $680.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $568.14. The stock has a market cap of $44.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.84. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $325.15 and a 52-week high of $732.37.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.13 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.44%.

United Rentals declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase 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 stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.