Lbp Am Sa Acquires New Stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

LBP AM SA purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,132 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $3,615,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 324 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. First County Bank CT increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 422 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 814 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 788 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,794 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,002,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird upgraded United Rentals from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $658.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W upgraded United Rentals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $829.00.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total transaction of $701,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,128. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of URI stock traded up $4.20 during trading on Thursday, hitting $631.14. The company had a trading volume of 555,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 548,748. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $698.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $758.05. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $585.27 and a one year high of $896.98.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last released its 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%. Equities analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This is a boost from United Rentals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.48%.

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.