Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 72,754 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $58,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,025 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,258,000 after buying an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 15,609 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,633,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,538,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 20,295 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 537 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

URI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on United Rentals from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,030.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $986.35.

United Rentals Stock Performance

United Rentals stock opened at $942.69 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $805.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $838.92. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $656.95 and a 52 week high of $1,021.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.83. 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 released 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 $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.86 EPS. United Rentals’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 46.99 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $5,479,732.62. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $984.98, for a total value of $22,426,024.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 99,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,478,300.40. This trade represents a 18.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877. Company 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.