Wedbush Securities Inc. Purchases 518 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 46.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,623 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $1,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management bought a new stake in United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,390,128. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

URI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup decreased their target price on United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W raised United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $804.15.

United Rentals Stock Performance

NYSE URI opened at $564.56 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $669.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $750.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $537.36 and a 1 year high of $896.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.65 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. Analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is 18.48%.

United Rentals Company 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.