Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 50.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,235 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,321 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.10% of United Rentals worth $39,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 525.6% during the 4th quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 3,272 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,749 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in United Rentals by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,366 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,091,000 after buying an additional 3,545 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 223.7% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 75.4% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $975,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Price Performance

NYSE:URI opened at $674.81 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $325.15 and a 52 week high of $732.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $680.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $563.40. The company has a market capitalization of $45.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.85 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 36.80%. United Rentals’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.74 EPS. Equities analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.05 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.44%.

United Rentals declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on URI. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $510.00 to $718.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of United Rentals in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $793.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $584.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total transaction of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,145,485.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.