United Rentals, Inc. $URI Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 4.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 128,775 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,993 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $122,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of URI. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 73.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,740 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in United Rentals by 4.5% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 103,146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,469,000 after purchasing an additional 4,415 shares during the last quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 22.2% in the third quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 11,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,189,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 2nd quarter worth $7,514,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,608 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,308,000 after buying an additional 1,790 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Rentals Stock Performance

United Rentals stock opened at $857.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $871.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $889.74. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $525.91 and a one year high of $1,021.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.94.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.86 by ($0.77). The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 30.35%. United Rentals’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $11.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 20.37%.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

URI has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp set a $950.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group upgraded United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,025.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Sunday, January 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $925.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total transaction of $1,184,753.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,434,996.08. This trade represents a 17.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total value of $1,969,938.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,322.12. This trade represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.