Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC Invests $626,000 in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 889 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in URI. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 3.7% during 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,566,802 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,264,326,000 after acquiring an additional 9,256 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $862,110,000 after acquiring an additional 57,002 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 787,877 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $637,968,000 after acquiring an additional 105,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 732,954 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $517,018,000 after acquiring an additional 52,037 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $4,390,128. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $623.35 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $585.27 and a twelve month high of $896.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $701.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $760.44. The company has a market capitalization of $40.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76. 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 (NYSE:URI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.65 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on URI shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price 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. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $829.00.

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.