IFP Advisors Inc Buys 1,903 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. $URI

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 262.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,628 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,903 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $2,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of URI. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 22.8% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,402,524 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,247,762,000 after purchasing an additional 631,484 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 66.5% during the third 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 period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 3,459.3% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 196,688 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $159,184,000 after purchasing an additional 191,162 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 6.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,678,614 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,557,158,000 after purchasing an additional 168,685 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 3,094.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 155,273 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $148,233,000 after purchasing an additional 150,412 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $984.98, for a total value of $22,426,024.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 99,980 shares in the company, valued at $98,478,300.40. The trade was a 18.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,227,362. The trade was a 14.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on URI shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 price target on shares of United Rentals and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $996.94.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI stock opened at $939.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $58.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.83. 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 12-month low of $681.98 and a 12-month high of $1,021.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $830.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $841.26.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. United Rentals’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.86 EPS. On average, analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

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