United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,500 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $3,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 82,462.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,606,661 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,300,962,000 after buying an additional 1,604,715 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in United Rentals by 259.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 150,152 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $97,108,000 after acquiring an additional 108,360 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in United Rentals by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 787,877 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $637,968,000 after acquiring an additional 105,287 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,416,568 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,956,768,000 after purchasing an additional 85,325 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 10.5% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 704,145 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $570,167,000 after purchasing an additional 66,957 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Anthony S. Leopold sold 900 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $823.24, for a total transaction of $740,916.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,682,702.56. The trade was a 30.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $770.81 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $778.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $760.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $553.22 and a 12-month high of $896.98. The company has a market cap of $50.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.69.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $11.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.49 by ($0.69). The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.12% and a return on equity of 34.73%. United Rentals’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $11.73 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 17.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

URI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $800.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $780.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $805.08.

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.