United Rentals, Inc. $URI Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 2.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 70,844 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,910 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $51,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 40.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 5,518 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 24.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 27,136 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $20,444,000 after buying an additional 5,375 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 43.6% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 56,057 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $42,233,000 after buying an additional 17,030 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,205 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,661,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 338.7% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $984.98, for a total transaction of $22,426,024.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 99,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,478,300.40. The trade was a 18.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $977.86, for a total value of $535,867.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,823,708.90. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on URI. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,030.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on United Rentals from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on United Rentals from $1,020.00 to $1,195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,275.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,140.00.

United Rentals Price Performance

NYSE URI opened at $1,043.73 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,041.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $910.42. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $701.59 and a 52 week high of $1,143.69. The stock has a market cap of $65.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.47 by ($1.76). United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.56% and a net margin of 15.32%.The business had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 46.77 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

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.