United Rentals, Inc. $URI Shares Bought by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

Key Points

• AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in United Rentals by 64.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 23,911 shares valued at about $19.35 million.
• United Rentals reported Q1 earnings of $9.71 per share, below analyst expectations of $11.47, while revenue came in at $3.99 billion versus the $4.20 billion consensus estimate.
• The company authorized a $5 billion share repurchase plan and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.97 per share, payable on May 27.

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 64.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,911 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,354 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in United Rentals were worth $19,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in United Rentals by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,402,524 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,247,762,000 after purchasing an additional 631,484 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in United Rentals by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,678,614 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,557,158,000 after purchasing an additional 168,685 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,315,086 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,255,460,000 after purchasing an additional 83,978 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,088,209 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,038,870,000 after purchasing an additional 57,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in United Rentals by 2.9% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 948,386 shares of the construction company's stock worth $905,313,000 after acquiring an additional 26,847 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:URI opened at $961.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.80. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $681.98 and a one year high of $1,021.47. The company has a market capitalization of $60.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $818.01 and a 200-day moving average of $839.18.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $11.47 by ($1.76). United Rentals had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.86 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $977.86, for a total value of $535,867.28. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,823,708.90. This trade represents a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total transaction of $292,226.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,479,732.62. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

URI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,101.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report on Monday. Barclays lifted their target price on United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial set a $1,209.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $996.94.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.