Principal Securities Inc. Invests $943,000 in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,645 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $943,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in United Rentals by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in United Rentals in the third quarter worth $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 1,525.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 65 shares of the construction company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Rentals during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in United Rentals by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 84 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total transaction of $5,862,199.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,341,742. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total transaction of $5,862,199.77. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $72,341,742. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $674.56, for a total value of $377,079.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,052 shares in the company, valued at $5,431,557.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,713 shares of company stock worth $6,747,384. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

URI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $793.00 to $796.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $600.79.

United Rentals Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of URI stock traded down $1.46 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $696.67. 394,807 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 575,857. The business's fifty day moving average is $683.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $598.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.82. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $326.41 and a 12-month high of $732.37.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.44 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.44% and a net margin of 17.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.66%.

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.