South Dakota Investment Council Reduces Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,616 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,137 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $3,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 650.0% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 30 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in United Rentals in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

URI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp set a $950.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial set a $972.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $925.59.

Insider Activity

In other United Rentals news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total value of $1,969,938.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,322.12. This trade represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total value of $1,184,753.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,434,996.08. This represents a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Rentals Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $851.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.66. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $525.91 and a twelve month high of $1,021.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $872.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $887.52.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.86 by ($0.77). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.35% and a net margin of 15.49%.United Rentals’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $11.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a $1.97 dividend. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc (NYSE: URI) is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm provides rental solutions and related services to construction, industrial, commercial, and municipal customers. Its business model centers on providing access to a broad fleet of equipment on a short-term or long-term basis, enabling customers to avoid the capital expenditure of ownership and to scale equipment use to match project needs.

The company’s product and service offerings span general construction equipment and a range of specialty categories, including aerial work platforms, earthmoving and excavation machines, material handling equipment, pumps, power and HVAC systems, trench and shoring solutions, and tools.