Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lessened its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 59.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,877 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 58,689 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of United Rentals worth $38,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in United Rentals by 6.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Capital International Sarl grew its stake in United Rentals by 34.8% in the third quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 9,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,393 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA increased its holdings in United Rentals by 2,857.1% in the third quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 31,138 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,726,000 after buying an additional 30,085 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake 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 valued at $3,247,762,000 after buying an additional 631,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 114,507 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $109,316,000 after buying an additional 7,278 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total value of $1,184,753.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,434,996.08. This trade represents a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total value of $1,969,938.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,322.12. This represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on URI. KeyCorp set a $950.00 price target on United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group raised United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,025.00 target price for the company in a report on Sunday, January 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $925.59.

United Rentals Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $820.50 on Tuesday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $525.91 and a 12-month high of $1,021.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $872.83 and its 200-day moving average is $885.68.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.86 by ($0.77). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.35% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $11.59 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

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

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $1.97 per share. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.37%.

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.