Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 2,200 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 61,349 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.10% of United Rentals worth $58,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the second quarter valued at approximately $776,102,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in United Rentals by 71.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,874,127 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,411,968,000 after acquiring an additional 780,322 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 74.5% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 715,250 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $542,526,000 after purchasing an additional 305,378 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in United Rentals by 66.5% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 484,450 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $462,485,000 after buying an additional 193,416 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in United Rentals by 34,208.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 189,038 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $142,421,000 after purchasing an additional 188,487 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,458 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $5,434,996.08. The trade was a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on URI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group upgraded United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,025.00 target price for the company in a research note on Sunday, January 4th. Truist Financial set a $972.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on United Rentals from $1,090.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $925.59.

United Rentals Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of URI stock opened at $774.86 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $871.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $884.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.94. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $525.91 and a twelve month high of $1,021.47. The company has a market capitalization of $48.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.66.

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

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.37%.

United Rentals Profile

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.