Comerica Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Comerica Bank decreased its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,365 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,658 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in United Rentals were worth $12,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 2,196.2% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 19,931 shares of the construction company's stock worth $14,040,000 after acquiring an additional 19,063 shares in the last quarter. Perbak Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,635,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 656,053 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $462,150,000 after purchasing an additional 87,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

URI has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded United Rentals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $702.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cfra Research raised shares of United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised United Rentals from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Rentals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $725.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value of $688,908.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,478,697.44. This trade represents a 11.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Rentals Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of URI traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $652.43. 494,608 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 594,215. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company's fifty day moving average price is $614.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $717.28. The company has a market capitalization of $42.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.70. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $525.91 and a 12 month high of $896.98.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.92 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.15 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals's payout ratio is 18.54%.

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.