Davidson Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Davidson Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,417 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 231 shares during the period. Davidson Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $2,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in URI. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in United Rentals by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,794 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 749 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 669 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in United Rentals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 999 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total transaction of $688,908.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. This trade represents a 11.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total transaction of $499,748.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,355,957.06. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on URI. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $770.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised United Rentals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $702.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cfra Research raised United Rentals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $753.64.

United Rentals Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:URI opened at $698.39 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $669.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $689.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market cap of $45.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.70. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $525.91 and a twelve month high of $896.98.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.92 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 33.11%. United Rentals’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.15 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 18.54%.

United Rentals 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.