Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 58.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,241 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 5,901 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in United Rentals were worth $2,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,855 shares of the construction company's stock worth $10,464,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 445,214 shares of the construction company's stock worth $313,627,000 after buying an additional 6,787 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth about $649,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 4,114 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,898,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 580.5% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,749 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,232,000 after buying an additional 1,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on URI shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded United Rentals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $485.00 to $780.00 in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $744.31.

United Rentals Trading Down 1.4%

URI traded down $9.89 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $714.09. 335,862 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 601,235. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $629.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $709.03. The firm has a market cap of $46.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.70. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $525.91 and a 1 year high of $896.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total value of $499,748.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,355,957.06. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value of $688,908.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. This trade represents a 11.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,908 shares of company stock worth $1,890,567 in the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by 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.