Unified Investment Management Takes Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Unified Investment Management bought a new position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,422 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,706,000. United Rentals accounts for 1.9% of Unified Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at $171,733,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 15.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 787,877 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $637,968,000 after buying an additional 105,287 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,416,568 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,956,768,000 after buying an additional 85,325 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 79.8% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 167,813 shares of the construction company's stock worth $118,214,000 after acquiring an additional 74,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 704,145 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $570,167,000 after acquiring an additional 66,957 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on URI. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird raised United Rentals from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $658.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $829.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Rentals Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:URI traded up $15.36 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $613.27. The stock had a trading volume of 154,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 686,360. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $716.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $767.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $585.27 and a one year high of $896.98. The company has a market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.68.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. As a group, research 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a positive change from United Rentals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.48%.

United Rentals Company 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.