Silvant Capital Management LLC Sells 2,854 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Silvant Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 28.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,029 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,854 shares during the quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $6,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of URI. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.8% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,740 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,661,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in United Rentals by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,678,614 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,557,158,000 after purchasing an additional 168,685 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 9,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,393 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA boosted its stake in United Rentals by 2,857.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 31,138 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,726,000 after purchasing an additional 30,085 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in United Rentals by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,402,524 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,247,762,000 after purchasing an additional 631,484 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on URI. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $965.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $950.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Rentals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $925.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total value of $1,969,938.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,322.12. This represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,434,996.08. The trade was a 17.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Trading Down 5.6%

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $774.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.66. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $525.91 and a 1-year high of $1,021.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $871.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $884.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $11.59 EPS. United Rentals’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $1.97 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 20.37%.

United Rentals declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.