Choreo LLC Purchases New Stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,438 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $825,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of URI. Magnus Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. Intellectus Partners LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth $669,000. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in United Rentals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 63,913 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,688,000 after buying an additional 936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

URI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $600.79.

United Rentals Stock Performance

NYSE:URI opened at $653.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $682.90 and its 200-day moving average is $583.96. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $325.15 and a 52-week high of $732.37. The company has a market cap of $43.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.82.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.35 by $0.80. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.44 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.44% and a net margin of 17.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.52 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.66%.

United Rentals announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total value of $5,862,199.77. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,341,742. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,145,485.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental company. It operates in two segments, General Rentals and Specialty. The General Rentals segment rents general construction and industrial equipment includes backhoes, skid-steer loaders, forklifts, earthmoving equipment, and material handling equipment; aerial work platforms, such as boom and scissor lifts; and general tools and light equipment comprising pressure washers, water pumps, and power tools for construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and government entities.