Avanza Fonder AB Has $3.32 Million Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Avanza Fonder AB trimmed its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 1.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,136 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $3,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of URI. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 241.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 41 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on URI shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $485.00 to $780.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $753.15.

United Rentals Stock Up 1.2%

URI opened at $715.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $653.84 and its 200 day moving average is $694.62. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $525.91 and a fifty-two week high of $896.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.70.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.92 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.15 EPS. Research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is 18.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total value of $499,748.88. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total transaction of $688,908.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. This represents a 11.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Company Profile

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.