Choate Investment Advisors Makes New Investment in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Choate Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 796 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in United Rentals by 3.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,416,568 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,956,768,000 after buying an additional 85,325 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,566,802 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,264,326,000 after acquiring an additional 9,256 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in United Rentals by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 996,014 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $862,110,000 after acquiring an additional 57,002 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in United Rentals by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 787,877 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $637,968,000 after purchasing an additional 105,287 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in United Rentals by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 732,954 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $517,018,000 after purchasing an additional 52,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other 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 transaction of $701,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on URI. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W raised United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $956.00 price objective (down from $963.00) on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $829.00.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $623.35 on Monday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $585.27 and a 12 month high of $896.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $701.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $760.67.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.65 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.