Todd Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Todd Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,222 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 584 shares during the period. United Rentals comprises approximately 1.3% of Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Todd Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of United Rentals worth $62,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 73.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,740 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in United Rentals by 4.5% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 103,146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,469,000 after purchasing an additional 4,415 shares during the last quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 11,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,189,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,608 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,308,000 after buying an additional 1,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,108 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,695,000 after buying an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

URI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 price objective on United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp set a $950.00 price target on United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $925.59.

United Rentals Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE URI opened at $868.85 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $54.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.70. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $525.91 and a 12 month high of $1,021.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $858.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $889.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 30.35%. United Rentals’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.37%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total transaction of $1,969,938.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,458 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,322.12. This represents a 25.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total transaction 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 approximately $5,434,996.08. This represents a 17.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.