Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Raises Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 10.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,480 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $23,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position 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 valued at $3,247,762,000 after buying an additional 631,484 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,557,158,000 after acquiring an additional 168,685 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,874,127 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,411,968,000 after acquiring an additional 780,322 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 6.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,315,086 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,255,460,000 after purchasing an additional 83,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 5.6% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,088,209 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,038,870,000 after purchasing an additional 57,977 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

URI has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp set a $950.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Truist Financial set a $972.00 target price on United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on United Rentals from $1,090.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $965.00 price target on United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $925.59.

United Rentals Stock Performance

NYSE:URI opened at $720.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $854.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $875.33. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $525.91 and a 1 year high of $1,021.47. The company has a market capitalization of $45.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.66.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 30.35%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $11.59 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $1.97 per share. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.37%.

United Rentals announced that its board has initiated 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 repurchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total value of $1,184,753.22. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,969,938.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,322.12. The trade was a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Rentals Company 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.