Amundi Cuts Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its United Rentals stake by 19.3% in the second quarter, selling 73,909 shares and retaining 309,649 shares worth approximately $350.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 96.26% of the company.
• United Rentals reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $12.76 and revenue of $4.41 billion, up 11.8% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.97 per share, yielding about 0.8% annually.
• Analysts maintain a generally bullish outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $1,246.19, despite an executive selling 1,500 shares. URI opened at $1,009.78, below the consensus target.

Amundi trimmed its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 19.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 309,649 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 73,909 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.50% of United Rentals worth $350,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 0.9% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the construction company's stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 16.9% in the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 76 shares of the construction company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 322 shares of the construction company's stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.0% in the first quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the construction company's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, EVP William Grace sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,133.15, for a total value of $1,699,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,869,155.30. The trade was a 19.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Rentals Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of URI stock opened at $1,009.78 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,085.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $963.37. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $701.59 and a 12-month high of $1,179.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $62.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.79.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The construction company reported $12.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. United Rentals had a return on equity of 31.72% and a net margin of 15.67%.The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.47 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 48.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on URI. Barclays boosted their target price on United Rentals from $715.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,101.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a report on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $1,300.00 price target on United Rentals in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Argus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,250.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,246.19.

About United Rentals

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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