Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Takes $4.01 Million Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,193 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,000. United Rentals comprises approximately 2.3% of Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optas LLC raised its stake in United Rentals by 0.9% during the third quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 175 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in United Rentals by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.7% during the third quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 450 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI stock opened at $736.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.66. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $525.91 and a 52 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $867.74 and a 200-day moving average of $881.40.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.86 by ($0.77). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 30.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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 announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $1.97 per share. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owned 7,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,322.12. The trade was a 25.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on URI. Truist Financial set a $972.00 price target on United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $965.00 target price on shares of United Rentals 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 issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $925.59.

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.