United Rentals, Inc. $URI Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its United Rentals stake by 1.4% in the first quarter, selling 12,776 shares and leaving it with 891,750 shares valued at about $649.7 million.
• Several analysts remain positive on URI, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $1,140, despite a recent downgrade from Weiss Ratings and an “underweight” call from Barclays.
• United Rentals reported quarterly EPS of $9.71 and revenue of $3.98 billion, both below expectations, though revenue still rose 7.2% year over year and the company maintained a quarterly dividend of $1.97 per share.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 891,750 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 12,776 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.42% of United Rentals worth $649,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Gleason Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 269 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its position in United Rentals by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 967 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in United Rentals by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $854,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in United Rentals by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest now owns 554 shares of the construction company's stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on URI. Barclays upped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on United Rentals from $1,145.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,275.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded United Rentals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,140.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $984.98, for a total value of $22,426,024.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,980 shares in the company, valued at $98,478,300.40. This represents a 18.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total value of $292,226.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $5,479,732.62. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $1,043.73 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.79. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $1,041.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $911.07. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $701.59 and a 52-week high of $1,143.69.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.47 by ($1.76). The company had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 46.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. United Rentals's payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

United Rentals Company 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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