United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Stock Position Reduced by Schechter Investment Advisors LLC

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,527 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $586,415,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in United Rentals by 104,089.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,341,964 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $476,961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340,676 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in United Rentals by 49.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 672,534 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $238,890,000 after acquiring an additional 221,613 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in United Rentals by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,179,328 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,905,379,000 after acquiring an additional 186,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in United Rentals by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,756,009 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $624,121,000 after acquiring an additional 170,958 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on URI. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $490.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. KeyCorp cut shares of United Rentals from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $572.20.

United Rentals Stock Up 2.2 %

URI opened at $720.15 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $660.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $543.15. The firm has a market cap of $48.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.81. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $325.15 and a twelve month high of $732.37.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.85 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.74 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 42.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is 18.44%.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total transaction of $508,105.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. 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.

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.