UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Reduces Stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp decreased its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,430 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $3,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the company’s 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on URI shares. Baird R W raised shares of United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of 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 upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $804.15.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:URI opened at $653.71 on Wednesday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $585.27 and a 12 month high of $896.98. The stock has a market cap of $42.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $694.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $756.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.65 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.48%.

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.