United Rentals, Inc. $URI Shares Acquired by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 60,714 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 4,505 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $57,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of URI. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 3rd quarter worth $421,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in United Rentals by 2.0% in the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 237,044 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $226,466,000 after purchasing an additional 4,575 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the third quarter valued at about $228,000. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd increased its position in United Rentals by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd now owns 39,133 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,362,000 after purchasing an additional 8,183 shares during the period. Finally, Finemark National Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Finemark National Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $647,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total transaction of $1,184,753.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,434,996.08. This trade represents a 17.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total transaction of $1,969,938.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,322.12. This trade represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Rentals Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $834.70 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $872.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $887.77. The company has a market capitalization of $52.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.66. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $525.91 and a 12-month high of $1,021.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.86 by ($0.77). United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.35% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $11.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a $1.97 dividend. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,025.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Sunday, January 4th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $950.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $925.59.

United Rentals Company Profile

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.