The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 51,890 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. $URI

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 672,184 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 51,890 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $489,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gleason Group Inc. grew its position in United Rentals by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 269 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1.2% in the 4th 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 last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 0.9% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $854,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.9% in the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest increased its position in United Rentals by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest now owns 554 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

URI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on United Rentals from $1,195.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,275.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,270.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,245.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,226.50.

United Rentals Stock Performance

URI opened at $1,126.44 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,056.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $920.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $70.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.79. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $701.59 and a 1-year high of $1,177.67.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The construction company reported $12.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.67% and a return on equity of 31.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

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.