Geode Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management trimmed its United Rentals stake by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, but still held 1.64 million shares worth about $1.32 billion, or roughly 2.6% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on United Rentals: several firms raised price targets, and the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of about $1,006.
• The company recently posted earnings of $9.71 per share, below expectations, while revenue came in at $3.99 billion; it also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.97 per share.

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,637,960 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 8,018 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.60% of United Rentals worth $1,320,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in United Rentals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in United Rentals by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 42 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. KeyCorp raised their price objective on United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on United Rentals from $850.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Rentals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,006.13.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI opened at $987.36 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $61.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.83. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $849.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $844.62. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $681.98 and a 52-week high of $1,021.47.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted 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). United Rentals had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.86 EPS. United Rentals's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. United Rentals's payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of United Rentals 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 directly owned 99,980 shares in the company, valued at $98,478,300.40. The trade was a 18.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $963.00, for a total transaction of $2,374,758.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,227,362. This represents a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

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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