Abacus Planning Group Inc. Sells 17 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 358 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 17 shares during the quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in URI. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 82,462.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,606,661 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,300,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604,715 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in United Rentals by 15.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 787,877 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $637,968,000 after purchasing an additional 105,287 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in United Rentals by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,416,568 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,956,768,000 after purchasing an additional 85,325 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in United Rentals by 10.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 704,145 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $570,167,000 after purchasing an additional 66,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in United Rentals by 6.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 996,014 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $862,110,000 after purchasing an additional 57,002 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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 target price on United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on United Rentals from $800.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI lowered 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered 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. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $829.00.

United Rentals Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE URI opened at $708.42 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $46.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.68. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $596.48 and a 52 week high of $896.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $735.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $769.95.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 18.48%.

About United Rentals

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.