Values First Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 205.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 623 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 419 shares during the quarter. Values First Advisors Inc.'s holdings in United Rentals were worth $390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the first quarter worth $26,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total transaction of $688,908.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,478,697.44. The trade was a 11.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded United Rentals from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $780.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cfra Research raised shares of United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note 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 for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $732.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $766.23.

United Rentals Stock Performance

NYSE:URI traded up $8.83 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $792.77. The company had a trading volume of 598,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,861. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $525.91 and a 52 week high of $896.98. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $709.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $683.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $51.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.69.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.92 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 33.11%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders 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 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is 18.54%.

United Rentals Company 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.