Silvant Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Silvant Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,029 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,854 shares during the quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $6,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 73.3% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,740 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,533,000 after buying an additional 2,428 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 4.5% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 103,146 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $98,469,000 after buying an additional 4,415 shares during the period. North Growth Management Ltd. boosted its position in United Rentals by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 11,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 37.2% during the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,608 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,108 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,695,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Rentals Stock Performance

URI stock opened at $774.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $48.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $871.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $884.59. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $525.91 and a 1 year high of $1,021.47.

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

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 20.37%.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on URI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp set a $950.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report 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. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $965.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $925.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In related news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total transaction of $1,184,753.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,434,996.08. The trade was a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,322.12. This represents a 25.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Rentals Company 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.