F M Investments LLC Increases Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

F M Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,994 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the quarter. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $7,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 241.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 41 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Trading Up 10.9 %

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $612.33 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $650.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $743.68. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $525.91 and a 1 year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $40.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share 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 issued a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 18.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on URI shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup cut their price target on United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Baird R W raised United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of United Rentals from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $910.00 to $485.00 in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $752.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,128. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Rentals 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.