Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 746 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 255,045 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $113,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 11,758 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,653,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in United Rentals by 138.2% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 81 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in United Rentals during the first quarter worth about $201,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in United Rentals by 2.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,809 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,142,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 135,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,428,000 after purchasing an additional 3,670 shares in the last quarter. 89.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Rentals Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE URI opened at $471.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $31.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.82. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $325.15 and a fifty-two week high of $492.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $438.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $427.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.81.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 25th. The construction company reported $11.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.32 by $0.41. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.15% and a return on equity of 37.00%. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 40.9 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 8th will be paid a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 7th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 17.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on United Rentals from $482.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of United Rentals in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $490.00 to $495.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on United Rentals from $520.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $455.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, COO Dale A. Asplund sold 14,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.27, for a total transaction of $6,728,397.39. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,031,747.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Rentals Profile

United Rentals, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental company. It operates in two segments, General Rentals and Specialty. The General Rentals segment rents general construction and industrial equipment includes backhoes, skid-steer loaders, forklifts, earthmoving equipment, and material handling equipment; aerial work platforms, such as boom and scissor lifts; and general tools and light equipment comprising pressure washers, water pumps, and power tools for construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and government entities.