Eastern Bank Acquires 17,054 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Eastern Bank grew its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 15,226.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,166 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,054 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $19,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 40.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 5,518 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 24.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 27,136 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $20,444,000 after purchasing an additional 5,375 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in United Rentals by 43.6% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 56,057 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $42,233,000 after purchasing an additional 17,030 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in United Rentals by 11.3% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,661,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in United Rentals by 338.7% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,133.15, for a total transaction of $1,699,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,869,155.30. This represents a 19.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on United Rentals from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,275.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,350.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,270.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,226.50.

United Rentals Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $1,120.41 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,071.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $926.51. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $701.59 and a 12-month high of $1,177.67.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The construction company reported $12.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.53 by $1.23. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 31.72% and a net margin of 15.67%.The business’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $10.47 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 48.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc (NYSE: URI) is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm provides rental solutions and related services to construction, industrial, commercial, and municipal customers. Its business model centers on providing access to a broad fleet of equipment on a short-term or long-term basis, enabling customers to avoid the capital expenditure of ownership and to scale equipment use to match project needs.

The company’s product and service offerings span general construction equipment and a range of specialty categories, including aerial work platforms, earthmoving and excavation machines, material handling equipment, pumps, power and HVAC systems, trench and shoring solutions, and tools.