Altshuler Shaham Ltd Sells 78 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd lessened its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 559 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 78 shares during the quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in United Rentals by 58,829.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,043,051 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $598,106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,281 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in United Rentals by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 933,428 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $414,974,000 after buying an additional 149,838 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in United Rentals by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 680,217 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $302,404,000 after acquiring an additional 10,018 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in United Rentals by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 638,958 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $284,061,000 after acquiring an additional 72,066 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 418,051 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $239,719,000 after purchasing an additional 6,655 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on URI. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on United Rentals from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of United Rentals from $793.00 to $796.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $600.79.

United Rentals Stock Up 1.7 %

United Rentals stock traded up $11.45 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $689.29. The stock had a trading volume of 358,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,352. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $683.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $593.02. The company has a market capitalization of $45.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $325.91 and a 12 month high of $732.37.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.35 by $0.80. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.44 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.44% and a net margin of 17.31%. United Rentals’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.66%.

United Rentals announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $674.56, for a total transaction of $377,079.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,431,557.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $674.56, for a total transaction of $377,079.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,052 shares in the company, valued at $5,431,557.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total transaction of $5,862,199.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,341,742. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,713 shares of company stock valued at $6,747,384. Corporate insiders own 0.49% 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.