Pettee Investors Inc. Has $3.85 Million Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Pettee Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,140 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the quarter. United Rentals accounts for 2.3% of Pettee Investors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Pettee Investors Inc.'s holdings in United Rentals were worth $3,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth $244,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,967 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,795,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 10,405 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,245,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on URI. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Cfra Research raised United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised United Rentals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $485.00 to $780.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $768.54.

United Rentals Trading Up 2.4%

NYSE:URI traded up $19.39 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $817.86. 805,005 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 587,713. The company's 50 day moving average is $734.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $688.54. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $525.91 and a twelve month high of $896.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $53.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.69.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 33.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total value of $499,748.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,921 shares in the company, valued at $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total transaction of $688,908.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. This represents a 11.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

About United Rentals

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.