Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 6,655 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 418,051 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,655 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.62% of United Rentals worth $239,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of URI. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 889 shares of the construction company's stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 5,816 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 900 shares of the construction company's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company's stock.

United Rentals Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE URI traded up $11.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $689.29. The company had a trading volume of 358,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,352. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $325.91 and a one year high of $732.37. The company has a market capitalization of $45.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $683.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $593.02.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.35 by $0.80. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.44% and a net margin of 17.31%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.95 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.61 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.66%.

United Rentals announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $600.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of United Rentals 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 in the company, valued at $4,145,485.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,145,485.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $674.56, for a total transaction of $377,079.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,052 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,431,557.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,713 shares of company stock valued at $6,747,384. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.