Eventide Asset Management LLC Purchases 15,696 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 95,940 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 15,696 shares during the quarter. United Rentals comprises 1.2% of Eventide Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $77,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total transaction of $292,226.94. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $977.86, for a total value of $535,867.28. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,823,708.90. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on URI shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on United Rentals from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays increased their target price on United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on United Rentals from $850.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised United Rentals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,101.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,045.81.

United Rentals Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE URI opened at $1,076.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.81. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $920.44 and its 200-day moving average is $862.24. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $682.08 and a one year high of $1,106.88.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.56% and a net margin of 15.32%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.10%.

United Rentals 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.