AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Raises Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its stake in United Rentals by 16.4% in the first quarter, ending with 41,551 shares worth about $30.2 million.
• Institutional ownership remains extremely high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 96.26% of the stock. Several other large investors also boosted their positions significantly.
• Analysts were generally positive, with the consensus rating at Moderate Buy and an average price target of $1,045.81, even though United Rentals recently missed quarterly EPS and revenue estimates.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,551 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,862 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned about 0.07% of United Rentals worth $30,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at about $978,017,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,402,524 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,247,762,000 after purchasing an additional 631,484 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1,667.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 343,965 shares of the construction company's stock worth $278,378,000 after purchasing an additional 324,503 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 66.5% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 484,450 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $462,485,000 after purchasing an additional 193,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 3,459.3% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 196,688 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $159,184,000 after purchasing an additional 191,162 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial set a $1,209.00 target price on United Rentals in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on United Rentals from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,045.81.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In related news, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total transaction of $292,226.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $5,479,732.62. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $963.00, for a total value of $2,374,758.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,227,362. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

United Rentals Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE URI opened at $1,077.68 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $953.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $871.26. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $693.78 and a 12 month high of $1,106.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.81.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.47 by ($1.76). The company had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.26 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.10%.

United Rentals 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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