United Rentals, Inc. $URI Shares Sold by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment lessened its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 0.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 83,979 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 463 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $61,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,708,877 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,192,357,000 after acquiring an additional 30,263 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,343,981 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,087,711,000 after acquiring an additional 28,895 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at $978,017,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 806,380 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $587,496,000 after acquiring an additional 103,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in United Rentals by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 774,347 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $631,459,000 after purchasing an additional 29,675 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Trading Up 1.1%

URI opened at $1,080.77 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $701.59 and a 12-month high of $1,177.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,067.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $925.40.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The construction company reported $12.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. The company had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.67% and a return on equity of 31.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $10.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 48.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $1.97 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,133.15, for a total value of $1,699,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,869,155.30. The trade was a 19.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

URI has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on United Rentals from $715.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 target price on United Rentals and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,275.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on United Rentals from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,101.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Rentals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,226.50.

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.