Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 12,793 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,627 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,793 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.18% of United Rentals worth $74,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in URI. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 241.7% during 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 last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value of $688,908.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. The trade was a 11.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI stock traded down $5.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $814.27. The company had a trading volume of 603,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,416. The company has a market capitalization of $52.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.69. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $525.91 and a 12-month high of $896.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $722.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $686.12.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.92 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.15 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals's payout ratio is currently 18.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on URI. Cfra Research raised shares of United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $810.00 target price (up from $740.00) on shares of United Rentals in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group raised shares of United Rentals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $485.00 to $780.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of United Rentals from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $768.54.

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.