Horizon Investments LLC Cuts Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Horizon Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 44.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,008 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,599 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in United Rentals were worth $1,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gleason Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 269 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 967 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.9% during the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.7% during the third quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 450 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 3.1% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 395 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

URI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 price objective on United Rentals and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $986.35.

Insider Activity

In other United Rentals news, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were 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 owned 5,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,479,732.62. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $977.86, for a total transaction of $535,867.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,823,708.90. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877 in the last ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Rentals Trading Up 0.9%

URI opened at $933.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $58.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.83. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $645.18 and a 12 month high of $1,021.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $802.64 and a 200 day moving average of $839.47.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.47 by ($1.76). The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.56% and a net margin of 15.32%.The company's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 46.99 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals 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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