United Rentals, Inc. $URI Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 948,386 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,847 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.49% of United Rentals worth $905,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in United Rentals by 73.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,740 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 103,146 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $98,469,000 after buying an additional 4,415 shares in the last quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. boosted its position in United Rentals by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 11,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,189,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the second quarter valued at about $7,514,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 37.2% during the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,608 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,322.12. This trade represents a 25.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on URI shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial set a $972.00 target price on United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp set a $950.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group raised shares of United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,025.00 price target on the stock in a report on Sunday, January 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a 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 issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $925.59.

United Rentals Trading Up 1.7%

United Rentals stock opened at $834.70 on Wednesday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $525.91 and a 1 year high of $1,021.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $872.23 and its 200-day moving average is $887.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $52.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.66.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.86 by ($0.77). United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.35% and a net margin of 15.49%.The business had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $11.59 EPS. United Rentals’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

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

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $1.97 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 20.37%.

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.