Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Sells 2,052 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lessened its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 13.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,790 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,052 shares during the period. United Rentals makes up 1.2% of Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $8,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the first quarter worth $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 1,266.7% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 41 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of United Rentals during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

URI has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $770.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Cfra Research raised shares of United Rentals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America lowered their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of United Rentals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $485.00 to $780.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $768.54.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In related news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total transaction of $688,908.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. The trade was a 11.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the business’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 transaction of $499,748.88. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Rentals Stock Performance

NYSE URI opened at $817.86 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $734.18 and its 200-day moving average is $688.54. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $525.91 and a 12-month high of $896.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $53.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.69.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.92 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 33.11%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.54%.

United Rentals 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.