United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Shares Purchased by Simplicity Solutions LLC

Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,064 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $1,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 2,042.9% in the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 150 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 65.0% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in United Rentals by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 632 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth $341,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on URI. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $793.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $494.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $584.07.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $666.74 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $680.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $566.65. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $325.15 and a 52-week high of $732.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.84.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced 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 return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. The business’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.05 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.44%.

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.