Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 2,554 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,235 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,554 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of United Rentals worth $64,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 82,462.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,606,661 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,300,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604,715 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 259.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 150,152 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $97,108,000 after buying an additional 108,360 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 4,778.7% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 103,672 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $67,048,000 after acquiring an additional 101,547 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,416,568 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,956,768,000 after acquiring an additional 85,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 704,145 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $570,167,000 after purchasing an additional 66,957 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Anthony S. Leopold sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $823.24, for a total transaction of $740,916.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,682,702.56. This represents a 30.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus increased their price objective on United Rentals from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $800.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $565.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on United Rentals from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on United Rentals from $955.00 to $985.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $770.71.

United Rentals Price Performance

NYSE URI opened at $722.64 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $533.70 and a one year high of $896.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $827.15 and a 200 day moving average of $750.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $47.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.66.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $11.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.49 by ($0.69). The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.73% and a net margin of 17.12%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $11.73 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.46 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 17.03%.

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.