HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 11,006 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its United Rentals stake by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,006 shares and leaving it with 49,262 shares valued at about $39.9 million.
• United Rentals reported mixed quarterly results: EPS of $9.71 missed analyst expectations of $11.47, while revenue of $3.99 billion also came in below estimates but still rose 7.2% year over year.
• Management remains shareholder-friendly with a $5 billion share repurchase authorization and a quarterly dividend of $1.97 per share, while analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $996.94.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,262 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 11,006 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of United Rentals worth $39,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gleason Group Inc. grew its stake 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. grew its stake 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. grew its stake 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. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in United Rentals by 3.1% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 395 shares of the construction company's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest grew its stake in United Rentals by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest now owns 554 shares of the construction company's stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In related news, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total value of $292,226.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $5,479,732.62. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 1,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,823,708.90. This trade represents a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of URI stock opened at $931.17 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $681.98 and a 1 year high of $1,021.47. The firm's 50 day moving average is $827.82 and its 200-day moving average is $840.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

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

United Rentals declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on URI. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Rentals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 target price on shares of United Rentals and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $996.94.

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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