United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Stake Cut by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC trimmed its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,529 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 380 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $3,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in United Rentals by 58,829.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,043,051 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $598,106,000 after buying an additional 1,041,281 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 19.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 933,428 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $414,974,000 after purchasing an additional 149,838 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 680,217 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,404,000 after purchasing an additional 10,018 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 12.7% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 638,958 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $284,061,000 after purchasing an additional 72,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 9.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 390,872 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $173,770,000 after purchasing an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $674.56, for a total value of $377,079.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,431,557.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,431,557.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,145,485.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,713 shares of company stock worth $6,747,384. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of United Rentals stock traded up $16.68 during trading on Monday, hitting $683.34. 339,288 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 585,772. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.50 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $325.91 and a 1-year high of $732.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $683.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $588.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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

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

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 17.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

URI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $600.79.

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.