Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Takes $9.56 Million Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE purchased a new stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 15,255 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $9,560,000. United Rentals makes up 1.8% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of URI. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 14.8% in the first quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Rentals in the first quarter valued at $210,000. Northeast Investment Management increased its holdings in United Rentals by 4.1% in the first quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 29,900 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $18,738,000 after buying an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its holdings in United Rentals by 10.7% in the first quarter. CX Institutional now owns 571 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 156.1% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 46,501 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,142,000 after acquiring an additional 28,345 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cfra Research upgraded shares of United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of United Rentals from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of United Rentals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $760.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of United Rentals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $485.00 to $780.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $753.64.

United Rentals Stock Performance

NYSE:URI traded down $21.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $695.09. The stock had a trading volume of 468,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 590,246. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $525.91 and a 1-year high of $896.98. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $660.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $693.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.70.

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

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.54%.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. This represents a 11.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This trade 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 Company 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.