United Rentals, Inc. $URI Position Boosted by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments raised its stake in United Rentals by 18.6% in Q4 to 11,756 shares, worth about $9.51 million, as institutional investors now own roughly 96.26% of the company.
• The board approved a $5.0 billion share buyback (up to 8.7% of outstanding shares) and the company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.97 ($7.88 annualized), highlighting a focus on returning capital to shareholders.
• Two executive VPs recently sold shares (Durand: 2,490; Grace: 1,498 at ~ $791 each), cutting insider ownership to 0.47%, while United Rentals missed Q4 EPS estimates ($11.09 vs. $11.86) and analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $914.88.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,756 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in United Rentals were worth $9,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 73.3% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,740 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 4.5% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 103,146 shares of the construction company's stock worth $98,469,000 after acquiring an additional 4,415 shares during the last quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 22.2% in the third quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 11,000 shares of the construction company's stock worth $10,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 37.2% in the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,608 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 11.6% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,108 shares of the construction company's stock worth $8,695,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In related news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total transaction of $1,969,938.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,900,322.12. The trade was a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total value of $1,184,753.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,434,996.08. The trade was a 17.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 target price on shares of United Rentals and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of United Rentals in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $950.00 price target on United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $914.88.

United Rentals Stock Performance

URI opened at $796.26 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $794.97 and its 200-day moving average is $844.38. The stock has a market cap of $50.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $557.05 and a twelve month high of $1,021.47.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $11.86 by ($0.77). The business had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 30.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $11.59 EPS. On average, analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $1.97 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from United Rentals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.37%.

United Rentals Profile

United Rentals, Inc NYSE: URI is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm provides rental solutions and related services to construction, industrial, commercial, and municipal customers. Its business model centers on providing access to a broad fleet of equipment on a short-term or long-term basis, enabling customers to avoid the capital expenditure of ownership and to scale equipment use to match project needs.

The company's product and service offerings span general construction equipment and a range of specialty categories, including aerial work platforms, earthmoving and excavation machines, material handling equipment, pumps, power and HVAC systems, trench and shoring solutions, and tools.

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