Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Has $432,000 Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 99.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 613 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of URI. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in United Rentals by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,855 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,464,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 445,214 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $313,627,000 after acquiring an additional 6,787 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 196.5% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth about $649,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 732,954 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $517,018,000 after purchasing an additional 52,037 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W raised shares of United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America cut their target price on United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $804.15.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI stock opened at $564.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $669.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $750.73. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $544.32 and a 12-month high of $896.98. The firm 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.

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

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total value of $701,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,390,128. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.