Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 5,526 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,344 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 5,526 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.12% of United Rentals worth $47,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in United Rentals by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 7,015 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,023,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in United Rentals by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 708 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in United Rentals by 133.1% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 12,894 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,394,000 after buying an additional 7,363 shares during the last quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth about $6,162,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth about $977,443,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other United Rentals news, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 8,052 shares in the company, valued at $5,431,557.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,341,742. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on URI. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $793.00 to $796.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $600.79.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI stock opened at $673.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $685.43 and a 200-day moving average of $615.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $330.30 and a 12 month high of $732.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.82.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.35 by $0.80. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 36.44%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.95 earnings per share. United Rentals’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 17.66%.

United Rentals Company 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.