MML Investors Services LLC Buys 1,726 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 18.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,954 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 1,726 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in United Rentals were worth $8,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Rentals by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. bought a new position in United Rentals in the 2nd quarter worth $206,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in United Rentals in the 2nd quarter worth $119,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in United Rentals by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,826 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in United Rentals by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,723 shares of the construction company's stock worth $20,516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,854 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other news, SVP Anthony S. Leopold sold 900 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $823.24, for a total value of $740,916.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on URI shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $800.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $780.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $774.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $955.00 to $985.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $770.00.

United Rentals Stock Down 1.3 %

URI stock traded down $10.38 during trading on Thursday, hitting $786.59. 408,042 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 544,684. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $504.65 and a 1 year high of $896.98. The firm's 50 day moving average is $834.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $746.65. The stock has a market cap of $51.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, 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 current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.03%.

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.