Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Buys 1,825 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 35.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,947 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,825 shares during the quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $4,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth $13,616,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 99.0% in the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 613 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth $505,000. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in United Rentals by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 385 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 60,586 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $42,773,000 after acquiring an additional 12,219 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total value of $701,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,390,128. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on URI. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $804.15.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $591.27 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $674.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $752.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $580.00 and a 52 week high of $896.98.

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

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 18.48%.

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.