Sapient Capital LLC Makes New Investment in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,478 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,421,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 84 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total transaction of $508,105.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI traded down $10.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $674.81. The company had a trading volume of 592,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 574,080. The firm has a market cap of $45.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $680.11 and a 200-day moving average of $561.80. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $325.15 and a 12 month high of $732.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This is an increase from United Rentals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is 18.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on URI. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $494.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $510.00 to $718.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $572.20.

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.