Bessemer Group Inc. Lowers Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. cut its United Rentals stake by 56.8% in Q1, selling 89,151 shares and ending with 67,796 shares worth about $49.4 million.
• Insiders also sold shares: CEO Matthew John Flannery and EVP Craig Adam Pintoff both reduced their holdings, with insiders selling a total of 26,088 shares worth about $25.6 million last quarter.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish despite a recent Weiss Ratings downgrade; the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $1,140, while United Rentals recently missed earnings and revenue estimates for the quarter.

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 56.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,796 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 89,151 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of United Rentals worth $49,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were 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 approximately $98,478,300.40. This represents a 18.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $963.00, for a total transaction of $2,374,758.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,227,362. This represents a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877 over the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on URI shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,030.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,101.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,275.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded United Rentals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,140.00.

United Rentals Price Performance

United Rentals stock opened at $1,043.73 on Friday. 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 cap of $65.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,041.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $910.42. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $701.59 and a 1 year high of $1,143.69.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $11.47 by ($1.76). The company had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period last year, the business posted $8.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 46.77 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. United Rentals's payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

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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