Westpac Banking Corp Sells 717 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 81.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 163 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 717 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $93,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the third quarter worth about $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in United Rentals by 71.4% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1,525.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 65 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Performance

URI stock opened at $681.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.82. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $329.00 and a twelve month high of $732.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $684.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $603.87.

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

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 17.66%.

United Rentals declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on URI. Barclays upped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $600.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Rentals news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total transaction of $5,862,199.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,341,742. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other United Rentals news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total transaction of $5,862,199.77. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,341,742. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,431,557.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.