Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Acquires 1,139 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,724 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in United Rentals were worth $9,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in United Rentals by 15.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 787,877 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $637,968,000 after buying an additional 105,287 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,253,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 7,813 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,504,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Finally, Conning Inc. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 1,267 shares of the construction company's stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value of $688,908.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $499,748.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,355,957.06. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Rentals Stock Up 0.1%

URI stock traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $707.36. 262,696 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 595,197. The firm's 50-day moving average is $650.15 and its 200-day moving average is $695.46. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $525.91 and a 12 month high of $896.98. The company has a market cap of $45.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted 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). United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.15 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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 note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $780.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on United Rentals from $770.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Cfra Research raised United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $753.15.

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.