Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 13,820 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• Clearbridge Investments trimmed its United Rentals stake by 12.9% in Q4, selling 13,820 shares and leaving it with 93,025 shares valued at about $75.3 million.
• Insider selling picked up as well, with CEO Matthew John Flannery and SVP Joli L. Gross among those who sold shares; insiders sold 26,088 shares worth about $25.6 million over the last three months.
• Analysts remain constructive overall, with United Rentals carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $1,013.63, even after the company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly EPS and revenue.

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,025 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 13,820 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.15% of United Rentals worth $75,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at about $978,017,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in United Rentals by 22.8% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,402,524 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,247,762,000 after purchasing an additional 631,484 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in United Rentals by 66.5% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 484,450 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $462,485,000 after purchasing an additional 193,416 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in United Rentals by 3,459.3% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 196,688 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $159,184,000 after purchasing an additional 191,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in United Rentals by 6.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,678,614 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,557,158,000 after purchasing an additional 168,685 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $98,478,300.40. This trade represents a 18.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total value of $292,226.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,479,732.62. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

URI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial set a $1,209.00 price objective on United Rentals in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,101.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings raised United Rentals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $1,030.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,013.63.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $1,085.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $68.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $892.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $854.72. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $682.08 and a fifty-two week high of $1,093.97.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.47 by ($1.76). The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.56% and a net margin of 15.32%.United Rentals's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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