Profit Investment Management LLC Takes Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Profit Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 837 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $525,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in United Rentals by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,221,228 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,564,722,000 after purchasing an additional 323,636 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,587,203 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,115,142,000 after buying an additional 20,401 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,250,324 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $880,778,000 after buying an additional 172,340 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in United Rentals by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,093,350 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $770,199,000 after acquiring an additional 97,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in United Rentals by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,051,365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $740,624,000 after acquiring an additional 305,491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on URI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $780.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. 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 note on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on United Rentals from $732.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $753.15.

United Rentals Stock Performance

URI stock opened at $708.89 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $525.91 and a 1 year high of $896.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $643.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $701.07.

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

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.54%.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total transaction of $499,748.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total transaction of $688,908.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. This represents a 11.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.