United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Shares Sold by Mount Lucas Management LP

Mount Lucas Management LP cut its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 58.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,088 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,728 shares during the period. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $2,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 378 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 5,352 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,461,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 418 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Hoylecohen LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Hoylecohen LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in United Rentals by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 357 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $690.00, for a total transaction of $248,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,822,100. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on URI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $780.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $774.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $790.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $745.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $750.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $675.15.

United Rentals Price Performance

NYSE:URI traded down $16.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $681.10. 372,239 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 558,465. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $703.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $682.81. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $387.01 and a 1 year high of $789.80. The company has a market cap of $45.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.68.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $10.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.48 by $0.22. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.35% and a return on equity of 35.87%. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.5 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.