United Rentals, Inc. $URI Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,021 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 8,111 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of United Rentals worth $68,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in United Rentals by 650.0% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 30 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in United Rentals by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 42 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Rentals news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total transaction of $1,969,938.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,322.12. This trade represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

URI has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 target price on United Rentals in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $965.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $620.00 to $600.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $925.59.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI stock opened at $792.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $49.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $848.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $888.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $525.91 and a 12 month high of $1,021.47.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.35% and a net margin of 15.49%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be issued a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.51%.

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.