MetLife Investment Management LLC Acquires 19 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,067 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $12,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in URI. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its position in United Rentals by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 3,230 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Ossiam lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 3,727.8% in the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,378 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 33,435 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $23,553,000 after acquiring an additional 5,223 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in United Rentals by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,221,228 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,564,722,000 after acquiring an additional 323,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in United Rentals by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 914,014 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $643,896,000 after purchasing an additional 11,529 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on URI shares. UBS Group lowered United Rentals from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $910.00 to $485.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on United Rentals from $1,000.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $729.79.

United Rentals Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE URI opened at $590.80 on Monday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $525.91 and a 12 month high of $896.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $628.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $732.79. The stock has a market cap of $38.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,880 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.