International Assets Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 58,829.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,043,051 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,041,281 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned about 1.54% of United Rentals worth $598,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of URI. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on United Rentals from $510.00 to $718.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $494.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on United Rentals in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $793.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $572.20.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of URI traded up $13.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $706.87. 275,838 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 494,121. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $676.01 and a 200-day moving average of $555.58. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $325.15 and a one year high of $732.37. The firm has a market cap of $47.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.85 by $0.41. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a positive change from United Rentals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. United Rentals's payout ratio is presently 18.44%.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total transaction of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About United Rentals

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.