L & S Advisors Inc Purchases New Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

L & S Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 8,133 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,586,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in United Rentals by 82,462.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,606,661 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,300,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604,715 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $332,349,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 77.7% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,056 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $295,626,000 after purchasing an additional 199,810 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 259.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 150,152 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $97,108,000 after purchasing an additional 108,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 4,778.7% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 103,672 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $67,048,000 after purchasing an additional 101,547 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In related news, SVP Anthony S. Leopold sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $823.24, for a total value of $740,916.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,682,702.56. This trade represents a 30.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

URI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $930.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $565.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on United Rentals from $774.00 to $795.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $800.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $751.67.

United Rentals Stock Performance

NYSE:URI opened at $825.50 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $814.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $729.65. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $454.71 and a 1-year high of $896.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.68.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $11.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $12.49 by ($0.69). United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.73% and a net margin of 17.12%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $11.73 EPS. United Rentals’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.46 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.03%.

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.