T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 472,150 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 112,640 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 0.72% of United Rentals worth $332,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,221,228 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,564,722,000 after buying an additional 323,636 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in United Rentals by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,587,203 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,115,142,000 after purchasing an additional 20,401 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in United Rentals by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,250,324 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $880,778,000 after purchasing an additional 172,340 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in United Rentals by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,093,350 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $770,199,000 after purchasing an additional 97,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in United Rentals by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,051,365 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $740,624,000 after purchasing an additional 305,491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on URI shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on United Rentals from $1,000.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group lowered United Rentals from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $910.00 to $485.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $725.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total transaction of $701,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,128. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:URI traded down $1.42 on Tuesday, hitting $627.76. The company had a trading volume of 133,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 590,427. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $614.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $724.53. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $525.91 and a 1-year high of $896.98. The stock has a market cap of $40.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72.

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

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.54%.

United Rentals 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.