Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. Takes $329,000 Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 525 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Summit X LLC lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 414 shares of the construction company's stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in United Rentals by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in United Rentals by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 312 shares of the construction company's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in United Rentals by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,794 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on URI shares. Morgan Stanley raised United Rentals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $702.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of United Rentals from $770.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Cfra Research raised United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $768.54.

Insider Activity

In other United Rentals 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 transaction of $688,908.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. The trade was a 11.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the business'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 sale, the vice president directly owned 1,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of United Rentals stock traded down $5.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $814.27. 603,953 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 587,416. The company has a market capitalization of $52.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.69. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $525.91 and a 52-week high of $896.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $722.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $686.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.92 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 33.11%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. United Rentals's payout ratio is presently 18.54%.

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.