Prudential PLC Purchases 1,286 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Prudential PLC lifted its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,424 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,286 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $15,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $802,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,616,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 99.0% in the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 613 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Finally, Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $505,000. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total transaction of $701,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,128. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Rentals Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $564.56 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $544.32 and a fifty-two week high of $896.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $36.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $669.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $750.88.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.65 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is 18.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on URI shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America cut their price objective on United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $804.15.

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.