Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $266,000 Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 24.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 463 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of URI. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in United Rentals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in United Rentals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in United Rentals by 1,525.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 65 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Rentals Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $666.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.89. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $325.15 and a 52-week high of $732.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $683.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $586.57. The stock has a market cap of $44.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.82.

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 firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.52 EPS for the current year.

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

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.66%.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total transaction of $5,862,199.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,400 shares in the company, valued at $72,341,742. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other United Rentals news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total value of $5,862,199.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,400 shares in the company, valued at $72,341,742. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $674.56, for a total transaction of $377,079.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,431,557.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,713 shares of company stock worth $6,747,384 over the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on URI shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of United Rentals in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of United Rentals in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $600.79.

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.