CSM Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

CSM Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,444 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 7,983 shares during the quarter. CSM Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $24,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Optas LLC increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in United Rentals by 0.5% in the second quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,720,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 2.9% during the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 2.7% during 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 during the period. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total transaction of $1,969,938.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,322.12. This trade represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 6,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,434,996.08. The trade was a 17.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:URI opened at $736.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.66. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $525.91 and a twelve month high of $1,021.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $867.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $880.97.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.35% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $11.59 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on URI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $965.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 target price on United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Rentals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $925.59.

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.