United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Shares Purchased by New England Research & Management Inc.

New England Research & Management Inc. raised its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 11.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,745 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the quarter. United Rentals comprises approximately 2.8% of New England Research & Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings in United Rentals were worth $5,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 241.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value 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 $5,478,697.44. The trade was a 11.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the company'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 transaction of $499,748.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,355,957.06. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE URI traded down $21.83 on Friday, hitting $695.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 468,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 589,769. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $525.91 and a 12-month high of $896.98. The company has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $662.96 and a 200-day moving average of $691.40.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.92 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on URI. Morgan Stanley raised shares of United Rentals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $702.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Cfra Research raised shares of United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $780.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $753.64.

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.