Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $24.35 Million Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 42,459 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,969 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $24,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in United Rentals by 6.4% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,588,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at $2,351,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at $257,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 9,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,218,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 6,413 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,677,000 after acquiring an additional 2,289 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total transaction of $5,862,199.77. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,400 shares in the company, valued at $72,341,742. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other United Rentals news, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $674.56, for a total value of $377,079.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,431,557.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total transaction of $5,862,199.77. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,341,742. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,713 shares of company stock valued at $6,747,384 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed 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 target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $600.79.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:URI opened at $666.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $44.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $683.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $586.57. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $325.15 and a 1-year high of $732.37.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.35 by $0.80. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 36.44%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 17.66%.

United Rentals Company Profile

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.