Profit Investment Management LLC Takes $525,000 Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Profit Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 837 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $525,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in URI. Capital World Investors grew its position in United Rentals by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,221,228 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,564,722,000 after buying an additional 323,636 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in United Rentals by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,587,203 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,115,142,000 after buying an additional 20,401 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in United Rentals by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,250,324 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $880,778,000 after buying an additional 172,340 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,093,350 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $770,199,000 after purchasing an additional 97,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,051,365 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $740,624,000 after purchasing an additional 305,491 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the company'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 transaction of $688,908.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,478,697.44. This represents a 11.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total transaction of $499,748.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Rentals Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of URI stock traded up $5.31 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $701.88. The company had a trading volume of 69,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 596,078. The company's fifty day moving average is $647.18 and its 200 day moving average is $699.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $525.91 and a fifty-two week high of $896.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.71.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.92 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.15 earnings per share. United Rentals's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals's payout ratio is currently 18.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on URI shares. UBS Group raised shares of United Rentals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $485.00 to $780.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of United Rentals from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Cfra Research raised shares of United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $732.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $753.15.

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.