Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 789 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 12.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,160 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 789 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $4,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New England Research & Management Inc. increased its stake in United Rentals by 11.3% in the first quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 8,745 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,480,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in United Rentals by 32.9% in the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its stake in United Rentals by 1.4% in the first quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 3,298 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,067,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in United Rentals by 5.4% in the first quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 551 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the first quarter worth about $9,560,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total transaction of $499,748.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value of $688,908.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. The trade was a 11.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of URI opened at $737.12 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $525.91 and a 52-week high of $896.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $682.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $684.21.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.92 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 33.11% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on United Rentals from $770.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on United Rentals from $732.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America cut their price objective on United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group upgraded United Rentals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $485.00 to $780.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded United Rentals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $702.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $765.07.

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.