Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $714.58 Million Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,246,092 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 56,948 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.85% of United Rentals worth $714,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 889 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its position in United Rentals by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its stake in United Rentals by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 5,816 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,335,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 900 shares of the construction company's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 71.4% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $600.79.

United Rentals Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE URI traded up $8.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $698.13. The stock had a trading volume of 352,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 603,383. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $325.91 and a twelve month high of $732.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company's 50 day moving average price is $683.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $597.03. The firm has a market cap of $46.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.82.

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

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. United Rentals's payout ratio is 17.66%.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total value of $5,862,199.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,400 shares in the company, valued at $72,341,742. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,713 shares of company stock valued at $6,747,384 over the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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