Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases 4,320 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 63.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,088 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 4,320 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in URI. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in United Rentals by 0.9% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in United Rentals by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 76 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in United Rentals by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Rentals news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,500 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,133.15, for a total transaction of $1,699,725.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,869,155.30. The trade was a 19.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:URI opened at $1,117.24 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,097.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $943.95. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $701.59 and a fifty-two week high of $1,179.18. The company has a market capitalization of $69.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The construction company reported $12.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.53 by $1.23. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.67% and a return on equity of 31.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $10.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 48.55 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, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

URI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,100.00 to $1,235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $1,300.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,245.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised United Rentals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,246.19.

United Rentals 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.