United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,473 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,402 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $36,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in United Rentals by 6.4% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,351,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $257,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. raised its position in United Rentals by 0.6% in the third quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 9,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,218,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its position in United Rentals by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 6,413 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,677,000 after purchasing an additional 2,289 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on United Rentals in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $793.00 target price on the stock. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $589.21.

United Rentals Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:URI opened at $655.07 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.84. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $325.15 and a one year high of $732.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $679.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.39 by $0.76. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.95 earnings per share. United Rentals’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 18.44%.

United Rentals announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by 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.