Prudential PLC Reduces Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Prudential PLC cut its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,469 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,004 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $19,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth $978,017,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in United Rentals by 22.8% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,402,524 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,247,762,000 after acquiring an additional 631,484 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 193,416 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in United Rentals by 3,459.3% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 196,688 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $159,184,000 after acquiring an additional 191,162 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in United Rentals by 6.7% during the third 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 period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of URI stock opened at $1,083.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $879.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $850.87. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $682.08 and a 12 month high of $1,091.23. The company has a market capitalization of $67.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.81.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.47 by ($1.76). United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.56% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.86 earnings per share. United Rentals’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.97 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on URI shares. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.63.

Insider Activity

In other United Rentals news, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total transaction of $292,226.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,479,732.62. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $963.00, for a total transaction of $2,374,758.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,227,362. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877 over the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.