LPL Financial LLC Purchases 7,229 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 143,316 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,229 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.22% of United Rentals worth $89,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of United Rentals during the first quarter valued at $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1,266.7% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 41 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 241.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 41 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 69.0% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 49 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of United Rentals during the first quarter valued at $36,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $920.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $780.00 to $835.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $702.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on United Rentals from $770.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on United Rentals from $895.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $830.71.

United Rentals Trading Up 0.3%

URI stock traded up $2.57 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $882.99. The stock had a trading volume of 450,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 666,298. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $758.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $698.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $56.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.69. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $525.91 and a twelve month high of $903.60.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $10.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.54 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 32.01% and a net margin of 16.11%. United Rentals's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. United Rentals's payout ratio is currently 18.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total value of $499,748.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

United Rentals Profile

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.