Legal & General Group Plc Has $322.30 Million Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in United Rentals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, but still held 398,240 shares valued at about $322.3 million.
• United Rentals reported quarterly EPS of $9.71, missing analyst estimates, while revenue came in at $3.99 billion, also below expectations. Revenue still rose 7.2% year over year.
• The company declared a $1.97 quarterly dividend and authorized a $5 billion share repurchase program, while Wall Street remains broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of about $1,006.

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 398,240 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 7,005 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.63% of United Rentals worth $322,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.9% in 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. Gleason Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 4.3% in 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. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1.2% in 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. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 3.1% in 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. Finally, Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest now owns 554 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Rentals Stock Up 2.9%

URI stock opened at $965.81 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $839.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $842.62. The company has a market cap of $60.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.83. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $681.98 and a twelve month high of $1,021.47.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $11.47 by ($1.76). The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.86 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

United Rentals announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

URI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,101.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a report on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial set a $1,209.00 price target on United Rentals in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on United Rentals from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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, KeyCorp raised their price target on United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,006.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $984.98, for a total value 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. This represents a 18.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $5,479,732.62. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877 over the last ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.