Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 7,200 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• Calamos Advisors LLC reduced its stake in United Rentals by 24.6% in the first quarter, selling 7,200 shares and leaving it with 22,067 shares valued at about $16.1 million.
• Wall Street remains bullish overall on URI, with 14 analysts rating it a Buy and a consensus target price of $1,131.56. Several firms recently raised price targets, including BNP Paribas Exane, Bank of America, and UBS.
• United Rentals missed quarterly expectations in its latest earnings report, posting EPS of $9.71 versus $11.47 expected and revenue of $3.98 billion versus $4.20 billion expected. Despite the miss, revenue still grew 7.2% year over year and the company continued paying a quarterly dividend of $1.97 per share.

Calamos Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 24.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,067 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 7,200 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in United Rentals were worth $16,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in United Rentals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $60,249,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its holdings in United Rentals by 86.3% during the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 721 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Rentals by 4.7% in the first quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 21,721 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,825,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 1,190 shares of the construction company's stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,813 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

URI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded United Rentals from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $1,320.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on United Rentals from $1,020.00 to $1,195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,275.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on United Rentals from $1,145.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Fourteen research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,131.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $977.86, for a total value of $535,867.28. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,823,708.90. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $98,478,300.40. The trade was a 18.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877 in the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Rentals Stock Performance

United Rentals stock opened at $1,064.77 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $66.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.79. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $701.59 and a 1-year high of $1,143.69. The company's 50-day moving average is $1,034.86 and its 200 day moving average is $906.18.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.86 EPS. Research analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 46.7 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $1.97 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. United Rentals's payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

United Rentals Company Profile

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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