North Dakota State Investment Board Invests $1.78 Million in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,201 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,781,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gleason Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 269 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 967 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 395 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest now owns 554 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $929.38 on Wednesday. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $681.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,021.47. The stock has a market cap of $58.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $822.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $839.63.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.47 by ($1.76). United Rentals had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.86 EPS. United Rentals’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

United Rentals announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

URI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of United Rentals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. 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. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,101.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $996.94.

Insider Activity

In other United Rentals news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $977.86, for a total value of $535,867.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,823,708.90. This trade represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,479,732.62. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.