Summit Investment Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Summit Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,542 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $2,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,147,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,295 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,717,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in United Rentals by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 634 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 6.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 996,014 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $862,110,000 after acquiring an additional 57,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Trust boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 206.3% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,207 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total transaction of $701,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,390,128. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Baird R W upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Rentals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $734.29.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI opened at $596.66 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $525.91 and a 52-week high of $896.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $641.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $738.65. The company has a market capitalization of $38.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.65 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. Research analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.48%.

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.