Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases New Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,503 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $3,647,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of URI. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 115.8% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 41 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 45 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in United Rentals in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in United Rentals by 280.0% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 57 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on URI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $780.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $774.00 to $795.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $800.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Argus increased 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. Three research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $751.67.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In related news, SVP Anthony S. Leopold sold 900 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $823.24, for a total transaction of $740,916.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,044 shares in the company, valued at $1,682,702.56. The trade was a 30.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $868.78. The stock had a trading volume of 454,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 543,616. The company's 50 day moving average price is $830.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $740.69. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $474.56 and a 1-year high of $896.98. The stock has a market cap of $57.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.82.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $11.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $12.49 by ($0.69). The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.12% and a return on equity of 34.73%. The company's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $11.73 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.03%.

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.