Bessemer Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 98.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,605 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 231,104 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in United Rentals were worth $2,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in United Rentals by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,600 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,945,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,963 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,383,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 9,682 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,820,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at $5,383,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 55,460 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $39,069,000 after purchasing an additional 11,810 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on URI shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of United Rentals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $702.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $770.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $780.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of United Rentals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $485.00 to $780.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $766.23.

United Rentals Stock Performance

NYSE URI traded up $3.23 on Monday, hitting $755.85. 28,837 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 584,778. The business's 50 day moving average price is $688.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $681.77. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $525.91 and a 52-week 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 company has a market capitalization of $49.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.71.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.92 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 33.11%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 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 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. United Rentals's payout ratio is currently 18.54%.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total value of $499,748.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value of $688,908.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,478,697.44. This represents a 11.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

United Rentals 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.