Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,527 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,179,328 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,905,379,000 after purchasing an additional 186,931 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,383,296 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,506,819,000 after purchasing an additional 43,715 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,756,009 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $624,121,000 after purchasing an additional 170,958 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth $586,415,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.8% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,441,997 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $569,394,000 after purchasing an additional 39,917 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

URI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $494.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of United Rentals in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $510.00 to $718.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Rentals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $572.20.

United Rentals Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of URI opened at $720.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $48.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.84. The company’s fifty day moving average is $660.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $543.15. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $325.15 and a fifty-two week high of $732.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.85 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 36.80%. United Rentals’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.74 EPS. Analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 42.9 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.44%.

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.