Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lowered its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 47.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,754 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 23,796 shares during the quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $16,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in United Rentals by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 24,676 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,464,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS purchased a new position in United Rentals during the 1st quarter worth $3,596,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in United Rentals by 2.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,533 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 8.1% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,225 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,274,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookwood Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the first quarter worth about $2,966,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:URI opened at $888.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $747.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $693.93. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $525.91 and a 12 month high of $896.98.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $10.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.54 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 32.01% and a net margin of 16.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 18.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on United Rentals from $780.00 to $835.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on United Rentals from $770.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on United Rentals from $920.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $865.00 to $960.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $812.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 8,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,478,697.44. This trade represents a 11.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president owned 1,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.