Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Reduces Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management cut its stake in United Rentals by 51.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,005 shares and ending with 2,820 shares valued at about $2.28 million.
• Several insiders sold shares, including CEO Matthew John Flannery and EVP Craig Adam Pintoff, with total insider sales over the last quarter reaching 26,088 shares worth about $25.6 million.
• Analysts remain positive on URI: the stock has a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a price target of $1,006.13, even after the company recently reported Q1 EPS and revenue below expectations.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lessened its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 51.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,820 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,005 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in United Rentals were worth $2,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 2.9% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Gleason Group Inc. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 269 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 967 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 3.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest boosted its stake in United Rentals by 2.2% during the 4th 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $984.98, for a total transaction of $22,426,024.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $98,478,300.40. This trade represents a 18.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $2,374,758.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,227,362. This represents a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on URI shares. KeyCorp increased their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Rentals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 price objective on United Rentals and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Twelve 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. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,006.13.

United Rentals Price Performance

United Rentals stock opened at $965.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $60.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.83. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $681.98 and a one year high of $1,021.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $839.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $842.62.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.56% and a net margin of 15.32%.United Rentals's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.10%.

United Rentals Company 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.

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