Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Cuts Stake in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,706 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 520 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $7,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in URI. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1,358.7% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,227 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,658,000 after buying an additional 7,663 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 1,707 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 3rd quarter worth $5,574,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 66.5% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 484,450 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $462,485,000 after purchasing an additional 193,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 154,688 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $126,362,000 after purchasing an additional 28,604 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $977.86, for a total value of $535,867.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,865 shares in the company, valued at $1,823,708.90. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total value of $292,226.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,479,732.62. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on URI. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 price objective on United Rentals and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $1,030.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on United Rentals from $850.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.63.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $1,067.62 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $885.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $852.71. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $682.08 and a 1 year high of $1,091.23. The company has a market capitalization of $66.89 billion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.80.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.47 by ($1.76). The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.56% and a net margin of 15.32%.The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.86 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

About United Rentals

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.