First Horizon Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lowered its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 520 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 16 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in URI. LGT Group Foundation raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 8,044 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in United Rentals by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,175 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 8,015 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,596,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. RB Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,320 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 99,372 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $56,982,000 after purchasing an additional 31,398 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on URI shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on United Rentals from $793.00 to $796.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on United Rentals in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on United Rentals from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $600.79.

United Rentals Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:URI opened at $666.66 on Monday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $325.15 and a 1 year high of $732.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $683.37 and a 200-day moving average of $587.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $44.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.82.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.35 by $0.80. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.44% and a net margin of 17.31%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.95 earnings per share. United Rentals’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.61 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.66%.

United Rentals announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other United Rentals news, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $674.56, for a total transaction of $377,079.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,431,557.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total transaction of $508,105.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,713 shares of company stock worth $6,747,384 in the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.