73,288 Shares in United Rentals, Inc. $URI Acquired by PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab

Key Points

• PFA Pension bought 73,288 shares of United Rentals (NYSE:URI) in Q4 — about $59.9 million and roughly a 0.12% stake — as part of a landscape where institutional investors now own 96.26% of the company.
• United Rentals missed quarterly expectations with EPS $9.71 vs. $11.47 and revenue of $3.99B vs. $4.20B, but its board approved a $5.0 billion buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.97 (annualized $7.88, yield 0.8%).
• Despite the miss, several analysts raised price targets sharply (e.g., KeyCorp to $1,150, JPMorgan to $1,050) and the stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a target of $986.35.

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 73,288 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $59,895,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab owned about 0.12% of United Rentals at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its stake in United Rentals by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,402,524 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,247,762,000 after acquiring an additional 631,484 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in United Rentals by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,678,614 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,557,158,000 after acquiring an additional 168,685 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in United Rentals by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,315,086 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,255,460,000 after acquiring an additional 83,978 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in United Rentals by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,088,209 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,038,870,000 after acquiring an additional 57,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in United Rentals by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 948,386 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $905,313,000 after acquiring an additional 26,847 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on URI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on United Rentals from $850.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial set a $1,209.00 price target on United Rentals in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on United Rentals from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $986.35.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $952.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.83. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $802.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $841.19. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $645.18 and a 52-week high of $1,021.47.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $11.47 by ($1.76). The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.56% and a net margin of 15.32%.The business's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 46.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. United Rentals's payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $984.98, for a total value of $22,426,024.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $98,478,300.40. This trade represents a 18.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $977.86, for a total value of $535,867.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,823,708.90. This trade represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 30,076 shares of company stock valued at $28,783,569 over the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Rentals Company Profile

United Rentals, Inc NYSE: URI is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm provides rental solutions and related services to construction, industrial, commercial, and municipal customers. Its business model centers on providing access to a broad fleet of equipment on a short-term or long-term basis, enabling customers to avoid the capital expenditure of ownership and to scale equipment use to match project needs.

The company's product and service offerings span general construction equipment and a range of specialty categories, including aerial work platforms, earthmoving and excavation machines, material handling equipment, pumps, power and HVAC systems, trench and shoring solutions, and tools.

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