Financial Counselors Inc. Acquires 902 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Financial Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,657 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 902 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $4,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of URI. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. grew its holdings in United Rentals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 814 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,794 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 450 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC increased its holdings in United Rentals by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 669 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total value of $701,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at $4,390,128. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $956.00 target price (down previously from $963.00) on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $804.15.

United Rentals Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of URI opened at $641.30 on Thursday. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $585.27 and a fifty-two week 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $692.06 and its 200 day moving average is $755.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.65 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. Sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.48%.

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.