Legato Capital Management LLC Takes $756,000 Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 934 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $756,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in United Rentals by 22.8% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,402,524 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,247,762,000 after purchasing an additional 631,484 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in United Rentals by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 484,450 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $462,485,000 after buying an additional 193,416 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in United Rentals by 3,459.3% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 196,688 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $159,184,000 after buying an additional 191,162 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in United Rentals by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,678,614 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,557,158,000 after buying an additional 168,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in United Rentals by 3,094.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 155,273 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $148,233,000 after buying an additional 150,412 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Rentals Price Performance

United Rentals stock opened at $939.20 on Tuesday. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $681.98 and a one year high of $1,021.47. The company has a market cap of $58.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $835.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $841.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.80.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.47 by ($1.76). The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.56% and a net margin of 15.32%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.86 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $1,030.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Rentals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 price target on shares of United Rentals and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $996.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $977.86, for a total transaction of $535,867.28. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,823,708.90. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total transaction of $292,226.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,479,732.62. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.