Man Group plc Acquires Shares of 18,479 United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Man Group plc acquired a new stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 18,479 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,017,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of URI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at about $695,716,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at about $330,989,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,221,228 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,564,722,000 after purchasing an additional 323,636 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,051,365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $740,624,000 after purchasing an additional 305,491 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 105.6% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 546,165 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $384,740,000 after purchasing an additional 280,502 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $4,390,128. This represents a 13.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total transaction of $499,748.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,908 shares of company stock worth $1,890,567 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:URI opened at $726.59 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $525.91 and a 52 week high of $896.98. The firm has a market cap of $47.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $626.76 and its 200-day moving average is $710.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,000.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of United Rentals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $702.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of United Rentals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $748.38.

About United Rentals

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.