United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) CEO Matthew John Flannery Sells 8,379 Shares

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total value of $5,862,199.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,400 shares in the company, valued at $72,341,742. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of URI stock opened at $653.76 on Thursday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $325.15 and a 12-month high of $732.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $682.90 and a 200-day moving average of $583.96.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.35 by $0.80. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 36.44%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.39 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 17.66%.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $600.79.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Rentals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hoylecohen LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Hoylecohen LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 889 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 5,816 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 900 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.