Trek Financial LLC Takes $394,000 Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Trek Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 559 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $394,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of URI. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in United Rentals by 1.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 20,401 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 16.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in United Rentals by 9.8% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at about $695,716,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in United Rentals by 15.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 787,877 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $637,968,000 after acquiring an additional 105,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total value of $701,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Robert W. Baird raised United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group downgraded United Rentals from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $910.00 to $485.00 in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $956.00 price objective (down previously from $963.00) on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $781.36.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI opened at $559.94 on Tuesday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $525.91 and a 1 year high of $896.98. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $665.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $748.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current 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 issued a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.48%.

United Rentals 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.