Boston Partners Purchases 29,675 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• Boston Partners increased its stake in United Rentals by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 29,675 additional shares to bring its holding to 774,347 shares worth about $631.5 million.
• Wall Street remains mostly bullish on URI, with 13 Buy ratings, 2 Hold ratings, and 1 Sell rating; the consensus view is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $1,045.81.
• Recent financials were mixed: United Rentals beat expectations on revenue growth year over year but missed quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $1.97 per share.

Boston Partners grew its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 774,347 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 29,675 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 1.23% of United Rentals worth $631,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 40.0% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 5,518 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in United Rentals by 24.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 27,136 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $20,444,000 after acquiring an additional 5,375 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in United Rentals by 43.6% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 56,057 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $42,233,000 after acquiring an additional 17,030 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its position in United Rentals by 11.3% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,205 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,661,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in United Rentals by 338.7% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,101.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $1,030.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded United Rentals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,045.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $963.00, for a total transaction of $2,374,758.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,774 shares in the company, valued at $14,227,362. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total value of $292,226.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $5,479,732.62. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877 over the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $1,076.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $920.44 and a 200 day moving average of $862.24. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $682.08 and a 12 month high of $1,106.88. The firm has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.47 by ($1.76). The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. United Rentals's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

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