United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Stake Reduced by RBF Capital LLC

RBF Capital LLC lowered its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,000 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. RBF Capital LLC's holdings in United Rentals were worth $9,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quantessence Capital LLC purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $361,000. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at $282,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in United Rentals by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 687 shares of the construction company's stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 4,565 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,213,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,017 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total transaction of $701,910.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,390,128. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on URI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on United Rentals from $1,000.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised United Rentals from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of United Rentals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $725.69.

United Rentals Stock Performance

URI traded down $6.04 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $627.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 173,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 741,092. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $615.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $725.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $525.91 and a fifty-two week high of $896.98.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.92 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. United Rentals's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.54%.

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.