Focus Partners Wealth Boosts Stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,207 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth owned about 0.07% of United Rentals worth $31,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in URI. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in United Rentals by 241.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 41 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management acquired a new stake in United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on URI. Cfra Research raised shares of United Rentals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on United Rentals from $1,000.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Baird R W upgraded United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded United Rentals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $702.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $725.69.

Insider Activity

In related 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 approximately $4,390,128. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $672.53 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $525.91 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. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $616.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $713.68. The firm has a market cap of $43.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.70.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.92 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. United Rentals’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.54%.

United Rentals 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.