Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Grows Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,837 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 823 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina owned approximately 0.06% of United Rentals worth $26,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. increased its stake in United Rentals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 814 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,794 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,002,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 669 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 368 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total value 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 trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on URI. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Baird R W upgraded United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group downgraded United Rentals from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $910.00 to $485.00 in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $752.14.

United Rentals Stock Down 5.0 %

URI opened at $580.32 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $525.91 and a 1 year high of $896.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $647.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $742.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $37.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.65 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. Sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.48%.

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.