First Republic Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

First Republic Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI – Get Rating) by 11.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,655 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,571 shares during the period. First Republic Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.13% of United Rentals worth $24,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of URI. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,897 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Alphastar Capital Management LLC boosted its position in United Rentals by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alphastar Capital Management LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in United Rentals by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 287 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Veriti Management LLC boosted its position in United Rentals by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Veriti Management LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in United Rentals by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,893 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on URI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 19th. OTR Global upgraded United Rentals from a “mixed” rating to a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, December 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on United Rentals from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on United Rentals from $354.00 to $328.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on United Rentals from $320.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $394.10.

United Rentals Stock Up 0.5 %

URI opened at $393.80 on Wednesday. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $230.54 and a one year high of $439.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $362.87 and its 200-day moving average is $320.82. The company has a market capitalization of $27.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.81.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 26th. The construction company reported $9.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.00 by $0.27. United Rentals had a return on equity of 35.38% and a net margin of 17.51%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 32.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 5.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In related news, Director Jose B. Alvarez bought 177 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $344.65 per share, with a total value of $61,003.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,673,969. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Profile

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United Rentals, Inc engages in the equipment rental business. The company rents equipment to construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and government entities. It operates through the General Rentals and Specialty segments. The General Rentals segment includes the rental of general construction and industrial equipment, earthmoving equipment, material handling equipment, aerial work platforms, and general tools and light equipment.