Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $41.45 Million Stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 34.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,134 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 35,444 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned about 0.10% of United Rentals worth $41,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth $244,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 582 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 8,083 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,694,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth about $10,290,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth about $2,590,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

URI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on United Rentals from $770.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of United Rentals from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $810.00 target price (up previously from $740.00) on shares of United Rentals in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of United Rentals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $702.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $768.54.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI traded down $8.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $808.39. The stock had a trading volume of 390,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 586,105. The firm has a market cap of $52.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $736.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $689.15. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $525.91 and a one year high of $896.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

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 company 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 33.11% and a net margin of 16.38%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.54%.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total value of $499,748.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value 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 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.