Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes $1.52 Million Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 2,157 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,519,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in United Rentals by 6.3% in the fourth 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in United Rentals by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 445,214 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $313,627,000 after buying an additional 6,787 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $649,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its stake in United Rentals by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 4,114 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,898,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in United Rentals by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 7,813 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,504,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:URI opened at $726.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $47.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.70. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $525.91 and a 52-week high of $896.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $626.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $710.24.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.92 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 18.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

URI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on United Rentals from $732.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded United Rentals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $702.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $748.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total value of $701,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at $4,390,128. This trade represents a 13.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total value of $499,748.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,908 shares of company stock worth $1,890,567. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.