338 Shares in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Purchased by Alta Advisers Ltd

Alta Advisers Ltd purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 338 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of URI. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in United Rentals by 241.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 41 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

URI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of United Rentals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $702.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $770.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of United Rentals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $485.00 to $780.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $766.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total transaction of $499,748.88. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total transaction of $688,908.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,748 shares in the company, valued at $5,478,697.44. This trade represents a 11.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Rentals Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE URI traded down $3.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $784.50. 342,929 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 587,529. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $525.91 and a 12 month high of $896.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $705.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $683.29.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 16.38% and a return on equity of 33.11%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.54%.

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.