Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 175 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,125 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $19,812,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in United Rentals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,147,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 8.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,295 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,717,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 634 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 996,014 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $862,110,000 after buying an additional 57,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Trust boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 206.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,207 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $597.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $638.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $737.67. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $525.91 and a 1-year high of $896.98.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 18.48%.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 $4,390,128. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on URI. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,000.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, 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. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $734.29.

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.