Larson Financial Group LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Larson Financial Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 25.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 459 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 156 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of URI. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $171,733,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $164,493,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in United Rentals by 15.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 787,877 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $637,968,000 after purchasing an additional 105,287 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in United Rentals by 3.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,416,568 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,956,768,000 after purchasing an additional 85,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in United Rentals by 79.8% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 167,813 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $118,214,000 after purchasing an additional 74,479 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total transaction of $701,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at $4,390,128. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on URI. Robert W. Baird upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI reduced 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. Finally, Baird R W raised United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $829.00.

United Rentals Price Performance

NYSE:URI opened at $600.34 on Tuesday. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $585.27 and a one year high of $896.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $39.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $709.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $764.37.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. Equities research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.48%.

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.