Sapient Capital LLC Reduces Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Sapient Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 17.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,765 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,333 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $7,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $978,017,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in United Rentals by 1,667.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 343,965 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $278,378,000 after purchasing an additional 324,503 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 3,459.3% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 196,688 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $159,184,000 after purchasing an additional 191,162 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth $102,945,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in United Rentals by 103.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 231,018 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $186,967,000 after purchasing an additional 117,584 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,245.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price target on United Rentals from $715.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Rentals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 price objective on United Rentals and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised United Rentals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Rentals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,226.50.

United Rentals Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:URI opened at $1,080.77 on Monday. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $701.59 and a fifty-two week high of $1,177.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,067.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $925.23. The company has a market cap of $67.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.79.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The construction company reported $12.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 48.35 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 19.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Company 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.