United Rentals (NYSE:URI) EVP Sells $1,969,938.60 in Stock

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) EVP Michael Durand sold 2,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total transaction of $1,969,938.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,322.12. This represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

United Rentals Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:URI traded down $2.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $779.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,123,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 753,641. The company’s 50 day moving average is $849.61 and its 200-day moving average is $888.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.94. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $525.91 and a 12-month high of $1,021.47. The company has a market cap of $49.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.70.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.86 by ($0.77). The business had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 30.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $11.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $1.97 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 18.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in URI. Optas LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.5% in the second quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,720,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 6.7% in the third quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 175 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. increased its position in United Rentals by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 269 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its stake in United Rentals by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 967 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on URI shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial set a $972.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,090.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp set a $950.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $925.59.

United Rentals Company Profile

United Rentals, Inc (NYSE: URI) is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm provides rental solutions and related services to construction, industrial, commercial, and municipal customers. Its business model centers on providing access to a broad fleet of equipment on a short-term or long-term basis, enabling customers to avoid the capital expenditure of ownership and to scale equipment use to match project needs.

The company’s product and service offerings span general construction equipment and a range of specialty categories, including aerial work platforms, earthmoving and excavation machines, material handling equipment, pumps, power and HVAC systems, trench and shoring solutions, and tools.