Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Grows Stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,787 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in United Rentals by 6.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake 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 last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at about $649,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 35.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 8.3% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Performance

NYSE:URI opened at $714.09 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $46.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.70. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $525.91 and a fifty-two week high of $896.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $631.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $709.07.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.92 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised United Rentals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $485.00 to $780.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $732.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Rentals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $744.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value of $688,908.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,748 shares in the company, valued at $5,478,697.44. The trade was a 11.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,908 shares of company stock worth $1,890,567 over the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is currently 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.