W1M Asset Management Ltd Makes New Investment in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• W1M Asset Management acquired 297,832 United Rentals shares worth approximately $337.3 million, making URI 3.1% of its portfolio and its 17th-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own 96.26% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 17 of 18 analysts rate the stock Buy or Strong Buy, with an average price target of $1,246.19. Wells Fargo raised its target to $1,355, while Barclays maintained an Underweight rating despite increasing its target to $950.
• United Rentals beat quarterly expectations with $12.76 in EPS and $4.41 billion in revenue, up 11.8% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.97, equivalent to a $7.88 annualized payout and a 0.7% yield, while an executive separately sold 1,500 shares.

W1M Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 297,832 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $337,323,000. United Rentals comprises approximately 3.1% of W1M Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. W1M Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.48% of United Rentals at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in URI. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in United Rentals in the second quarter valued at $13,974,000. X Square Capital LLC purchased a new position in United Rentals during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,869,000. Emerald Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in United Rentals in the 2nd quarter worth $12,943,000. Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 2nd quarter worth about $159,000. Finally, TRB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $240,000. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on URI. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,245.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,101.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,275.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Barclays upped their price target on United Rentals from $715.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised United Rentals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,246.19.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In related news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,133.15, for a total transaction of $1,699,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,869,155.30. This trade represents a 19.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $1,095.21 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $701.59 and a fifty-two week high of $1,179.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,099.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $949.51. The company has a market capitalization of $68.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.76.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The construction company reported $12.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $11.53 by $1.23. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.22 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 31.72% and a net margin of 15.67%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.47 EPS. Analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 48.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. United Rentals's payout ratio is 18.92%.

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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