Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Reduces Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,953 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 543 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $9,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 8,083 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,694,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 87,911 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $61,928,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth about $8,946,000. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,161 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,862,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth about $2,304,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI stock opened at $628.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $696.39 and a 200-day moving average of $756.39. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $585.27 and a 12-month high of $896.98. 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 company has a market cap of $41.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS 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 is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 18.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of United Rentals 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at $4,390,128. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on URI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Baird R W raised United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.67.

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.