UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Boosts Stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 545,838 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,406 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $384,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 55,714 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,247,000 after buying an additional 3,531 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at $55,166,000. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,787 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at $2,776,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 3,328 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total transaction of $701,910.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at $4,390,128. This trade represents a 13.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total value of $499,748.88. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,921 shares in the company, valued at $1,355,957.06. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,908 shares of company stock valued at $1,890,567. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of URI opened at $714.09 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $631.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $709.07. The company has a market capitalization of $46.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G 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. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $525.91 and a fifty-two week high of $896.98.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. United Rentals’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.15 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on URI. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI decreased 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded United Rentals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $702.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $744.31.

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.