United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Position Boosted by Clarius Group LLC

Clarius Group LLC lifted its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 187.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,415 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 923 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC's holdings in United Rentals were worth $887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bfsg LLC raised its holdings in United Rentals by 2.7% in the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 3,334 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC raised its holdings in United Rentals by 3.7% in the first quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 3,704 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,212,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the first quarter valued at $689,000. Louisbourg Investments Inc. raised its holdings in United Rentals by 58.3% in the first quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 9,158 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,739,000 after acquiring an additional 3,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the first quarter valued at $36,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on URI shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley raised shares of United Rentals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $702.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of United Rentals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $760.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group raised shares of United Rentals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $485.00 to $780.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $753.64.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of United Rentals stock traded up $6.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $705.28. 714,662 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 586,801. The stock's fifty day moving average is $673.94 and its 200 day moving average is $686.88. The stock has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $525.91 and a 12 month 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 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 the consensus estimate 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 was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.54%.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In related news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value of $688,908.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,748 shares in the company, valued at $5,478,697.44. This represents a 11.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 1,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

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.