United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 199,730 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,070 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of United Rentals worth $114,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC raised 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 valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised 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 valued at $3,335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised 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 valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in United Rentals by 71.4% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Investment Group raised its stake in United Rentals by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 2,733 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI opened at $655.97 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $680.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $568.14. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $325.15 and a 12-month high of $732.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $44.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.84.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. United Rentals’s 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.13 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on URI. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on United Rentals in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on United Rentals in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $793.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Rentals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $589.21.

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.