UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Acquires 79 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 540 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake 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 worth $9,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,351,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth $257,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. raised its holdings in United Rentals by 0.6% during the third quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 9,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,218,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 6,413 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,677,000 after acquiring an additional 2,289 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on URI shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays upped their target price on United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $793.00 to $796.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $600.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $674.56, for a total value of $377,079.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,052 shares in the company, valued at $5,431,557.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total transaction of $508,105.50. Following 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $674.56, for a total transaction of $377,079.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,431,557.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,713 shares of company stock valued at $6,747,384 over the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE URI traded down $9.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $674.27. The company had a trading volume of 433,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 584,046. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.82. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $325.91 and a fifty-two week high of $732.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $683.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $590.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.35 by $0.80. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.44 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.44% and a net margin of 17.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.95 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.61 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.66%.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.