Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Trims Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,391 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,658 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $22,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of URI. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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. Gleason Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 269 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 967 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 3.1% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 395 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In related news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total transaction 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 approximately $5,434,996.08. This represents a 17.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $963.00, for a total transaction of $2,374,758.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,227,362. This represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,076 shares of company stock worth $28,783,569 in the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on URI shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $1,030.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $986.35.

United Rentals Stock Down 1.1%

URI stock opened at $952.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $800.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $841.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $611.93 and a 52 week high of $1,021.47.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.47 by ($1.76). The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.56% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.86 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 46.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

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.