United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Shares Bought by Bridges Investment Management Inc.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 120.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,208 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 32,367 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. owned 0.09% of United Rentals worth $37,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 241.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 41 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in United Rentals in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on URI shares. Cfra Research raised United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of United Rentals from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of United Rentals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $760.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded United Rentals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $485.00 to $780.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $766.23.

United Rentals Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:URI traded up $13.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $805.32. The company had a trading volume of 378,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,802. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $712.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $683.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $525.91 and a 1 year high of $896.98.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.92 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 33.11% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.15 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals's payout ratio is 18.54%.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,355,957.06. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value of $688,908.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 0.53% of the company's stock.

About United Rentals

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.