Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Raises Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 127.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 48,343 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 27,072 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.07% of United Rentals worth $34,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,147,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in United Rentals by 8.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,295 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,717,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in United Rentals by 8.4% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, American Trust lifted its stake in United Rentals by 206.3% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,207 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $977,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on URI. Morgan Stanley raised shares of United Rentals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $702.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group downgraded United Rentals from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $910.00 to $485.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on United Rentals from $1,000.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $725.69.

United Rentals Stock Down 0.8 %

United Rentals stock traded down $5.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $628.32. The stock had a trading volume of 575,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 592,155. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $525.91 and a one year high of $896.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $615.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $725.87. The company has a market capitalization of $41.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72. 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 (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.92 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.15 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. United Rentals's payout ratio is 18.54%.

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.