Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 30 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Verus Capital Partners LLC lowered its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 310 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,855 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,464,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. Retireful LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $697,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1,067.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 59,879 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,486,000 after buying an additional 54,750 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 196.5% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after buying an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 732,954 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $517,018,000 after buying an additional 52,037 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of United Rentals 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,390,128. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE URI opened at $642.49 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $721.43 and a 200-day moving average of $768.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.68. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $596.48 and a 52 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.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.79 dividend. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on URI. Argus increased their target price on United Rentals from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Baird R W raised United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup dropped their target price on United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird raised United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $829.00.

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.