Kovack Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• Kovack Advisors increased its stake in United Rentals by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, while several other institutional investors also boosted holdings. Hedge funds and other institutions now own 96.26% of the company.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on URI, with multiple analysts raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating. The average target price is about $1,029, below the recent analyst upgrades to as high as $1,150.
• United Rentals reported quarterly earnings of $9.71 per share, missing estimates, though revenue still rose 7.2% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.97 per share, equal to a 0.7% yield.

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,766 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.'s holdings in United Rentals were worth $7,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in United Rentals by 1,358.7% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,227 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,658,000 after acquiring an additional 7,663 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in United Rentals in the third quarter worth approximately $5,574,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in United Rentals by 66.5% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 484,450 shares of the construction company's stock worth $462,485,000 after acquiring an additional 193,416 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in United Rentals by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 154,688 shares of the construction company's stock worth $126,362,000 after acquiring an additional 28,604 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in United Rentals by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,756 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,514,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

URI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" 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 stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $1,030.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Rentals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $963.00, for a total transaction of $2,374,758.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,774 shares in the company, valued at $14,227,362. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $984.98, for a total transaction of $22,426,024.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

United Rentals Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of URI stock opened at $1,067.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.22, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.81. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $682.08 and a one year high of $1,106.88. The company's fifty day moving average price is $913.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $860.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding URI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.