Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Sells 159 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lowered its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,970 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 159 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $1,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in United Rentals by 3.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,416,568 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,956,768,000 after buying an additional 85,325 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,566,802 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,264,326,000 after acquiring an additional 9,256 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in United Rentals by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 996,014 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $862,110,000 after acquiring an additional 57,002 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 15.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 787,877 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $637,968,000 after acquiring an additional 105,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in United Rentals by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 732,954 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $517,018,000 after purchasing an additional 52,037 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI stock opened at $598.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $716.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $767.11. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $585.27 and a 52 week high of $896.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.65 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus boosted their price target on United Rentals from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird raised United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Baird R W upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $829.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total transaction of $701,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,390,128. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Company 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.