South Dakota Investment Council Reduces Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,616 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,137 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $3,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $776,102,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 71.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,874,127 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,411,968,000 after acquiring an additional 780,322 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 74.5% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 715,250 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $542,526,000 after acquiring an additional 305,378 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in United Rentals by 66.5% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 484,450 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $462,485,000 after purchasing an additional 193,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in United Rentals by 34,208.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 189,038 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $142,421,000 after purchasing an additional 188,487 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on URI. KeyCorp set a $950.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup cut their price target on United Rentals from $1,090.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $925.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total transaction of $1,184,753.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,434,996.08. This represents a 17.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total value of $1,969,938.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,322.12. This represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Performance

NYSE:URI opened at $851.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $53.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $872.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $887.52. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $525.91 and a fifty-two week high of $1,021.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.86 by ($0.77). United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.35% and a net margin of 15.49%.The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $11.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.37%.

United Rentals declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Profile

United Rentals, Inc (NYSE: URI) is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm provides rental solutions and related services to construction, industrial, commercial, and municipal customers. Its business model centers on providing access to a broad fleet of equipment on a short-term or long-term basis, enabling customers to avoid the capital expenditure of ownership and to scale equipment use to match project needs.

The company’s product and service offerings span general construction equipment and a range of specialty categories, including aerial work platforms, earthmoving and excavation machines, material handling equipment, pumps, power and HVAC systems, trench and shoring solutions, and tools.