Capital Research Global Investors Sells 818,118 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• Capital Research Global Investors cut its United Rentals stake by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 818,118 shares and leaving it with 2,137,843 shares worth about $1.73 billion.
• Several company insiders also sold stock, including CEO Matthew John Flannery and VP Andrew B. Limoges, with insider sales totaling 26,088 shares worth $25.6 million over the last quarter.
• Analysts remain mostly positive on United Rentals: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $1,013.63, even after the company recently reported earnings that missed estimates.

Capital Research Global Investors lowered its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,137,843 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 818,118 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 3.39% of United Rentals worth $1,730,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gleason Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 269 shares of the construction company's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 967 shares of the construction company's stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 2.9% during the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the construction company's stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest now owns 554 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 322 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president owned 1,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,823,708.90. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Rentals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 price objective on United Rentals and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,013.63.

United Rentals Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE URI opened at $1,067.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.81. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $885.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $852.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.80. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $682.08 and a 52 week high of $1,091.23.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.47 by ($1.76). The firm 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%. The company's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.86 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. United Rentals's payout ratio is presently 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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