California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 127,413 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 9,259 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.19% of United Rentals worth $73,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 58,829.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,043,051 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $598,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,281 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in United Rentals by 19.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 933,428 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $414,974,000 after purchasing an additional 149,838 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 680,217 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $302,404,000 after purchasing an additional 10,018 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 12.7% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 638,958 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $284,061,000 after buying an additional 72,066 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 9.9% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 390,872 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $173,770,000 after buying an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on United Rentals in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $793.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Rentals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $589.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $655.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $44.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.84. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $325.15 and a 1 year high of $732.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $679.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $576.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.81.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.39 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.44 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. United Rentals’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.44%.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About United Rentals

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.