United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Shares Sold by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 59.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,842 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 137,179 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.14% of United Rentals worth $58,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of URI. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 241.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 41 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 1,266.7% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 41 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in United Rentals during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 69.0% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 49 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $810.00 price target (up previously from $740.00) on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Evercore ISI cut 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. Cfra Research upgraded shares of United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of United Rentals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $702.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of United Rentals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $760.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $768.54.

United Rentals Stock Down 1.0%

United Rentals stock traded down $8.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $808.39. 390,221 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 586,105. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $525.91 and a 12 month high of $896.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $736.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $689.15. The company has a market cap of $52.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.69.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.92 by ($0.06). The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,478,697.44. This trade represents a 11.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $499,748.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,355,957.06. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

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.