ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 2,933 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors increased its stake in United Rentals by 27% in the fourth quarter, buying 2,933 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 13,796 shares worth about $11.2 million.
• Analysts remain largely bullish on URI, with multiple firms raising price targets; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” and the average target price is $996.94.
• United Rentals reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates, though revenue still rose 7.2% year over year. The company also announced a $1.97 quarterly dividend and has an active $5 billion share buyback program.

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 27.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,796 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 2,933 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in United Rentals were worth $11,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 73.3% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,740 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,533,000 after buying an additional 2,428 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in United Rentals by 4.5% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 103,146 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $98,469,000 after buying an additional 4,415 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 1,358.7% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,227 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,658,000 after buying an additional 7,663 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in United Rentals by 11.6% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,108 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $8,695,000 after buying an additional 947 shares during the period. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 70.7% during the third quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 1,707 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,486,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 price target on United Rentals and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised United Rentals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on United Rentals from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $996.94.

United Rentals Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of URI stock opened at $931.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $827.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $840.57. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $681.98 and a 12-month high of $1,021.47. The firm has a market cap of $58.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.83.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.47 by ($1.76). The firm 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%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.86 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. United Rentals's payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

United Rentals declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $977.86, for a total value of $535,867.28. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,823,708.90. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $963.00, for a total value of $2,374,758.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,227,362. This represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

United Rentals 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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