Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Increases Stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,728 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in United Rentals were worth $9,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 241.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 41 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on URI. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of United Rentals from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of United Rentals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $485.00 to $780.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $753.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total transaction of $688,908.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. The trade was a 11.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total transaction of $499,748.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

United Rentals Trading Up 1.1%

URI opened at $707.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.71. The firm's 50 day moving average is $650.15 and its 200-day moving average is $697.32. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $525.91 and a 52-week high of $896.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.92 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.15 EPS. Analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.54%.

About United Rentals

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.

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