Bank of Montreal Can Sells 9,264 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 118,912 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 9,264 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $83,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of URI. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in United Rentals by 241.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 41 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management bought a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total value of $701,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,390,128. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Rentals Trading Down 1.9 %

United Rentals stock opened at $550.14 on Wednesday. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $525.91 and a one year high of $896.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $657.05 and its 200 day moving average is $745.90. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $35.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase 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 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on URI. UBS Group cut shares of United Rentals from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $910.00 to $485.00 in a report on Monday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $752.14.

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.