Blair William & Co. IL Purchases 1,315 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,462 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $5,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

United Rentals Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:URI opened at $627.10 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $686.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $755.28. The company has a market capitalization of $40.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $585.27 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 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%. Analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.79 per share. 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 1.14%. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.48%.

Insider Activity

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the firm’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 trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on URI. Robert W. Baird raised shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $956.00 target price (down from $963.00) on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI cut their price target on 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. Bank of America lowered their price objective on United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Rentals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $804.15.

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.