Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 889 United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 889 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,566,802 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,264,326,000 after buying an additional 9,256 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 6.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 996,014 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $862,110,000 after buying an additional 57,002 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 15.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 787,877 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $637,968,000 after buying an additional 105,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 732,954 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $517,018,000 after buying an additional 52,037 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $956.00 price target (down from $963.00) on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $829.00.

United Rentals Stock Up 4.9 %

United Rentals stock opened at $623.35 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $585.27 and a twelve month high of $896.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $701.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $760.44. The company 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 quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share 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 predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.48%.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total transaction of $701,910.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,128. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.