Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 358 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 38 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,588,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 9,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,218,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 6,413 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,677,000 after buying an additional 2,289 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at $22,529,000. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 5,012 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,228,000 after buying an additional 1,445 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total transaction of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Rentals Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:URI opened at $655.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $680.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $568.14. The stock has a market cap of $44.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.84. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $325.15 and a 1 year high of $732.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.81.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.85 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.74 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on URI shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $494.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Truist Financial started coverage on United Rentals in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $793.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $589.21.

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.