Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 1,515 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 18.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,598 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,515 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in United Rentals were worth $6,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of URI. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in United Rentals by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,221,228 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,564,722,000 after purchasing an additional 323,636 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in United Rentals by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,587,203 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,115,142,000 after purchasing an additional 20,401 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,250,324 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $880,778,000 after acquiring an additional 172,340 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,093,350 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $770,199,000 after acquiring an additional 97,336 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors increased 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 acquiring an additional 305,491 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Rentals Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $784.50 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $50.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.69. The company's 50 day moving average is $705.94 and its 200 day moving average is $682.81. 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.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last released 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). 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%. United Rentals's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.15 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is 18.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on URI. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Cfra Research upgraded shares of United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of United Rentals from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $770.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $766.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Rentals news, 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 directly owned 1,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,355,957.06. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value of $688,908.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,478,697.44. This represents a 11.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.51% 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.

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