Prudential Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 26.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 50,422 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 18,334 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $35,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in URI. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management bought a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on URI. Bank of America dropped their price target on United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Baird R W raised shares of United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $804.15.

United Rentals Trading Up 1.0 %

URI stock opened at $653.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $585.27 and a 12 month high of $896.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $694.07 and its 200 day moving average is $756.62.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. 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.