Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 38.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,079 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $2,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,399,808 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,669,806,000 after purchasing an additional 1,799,997 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth about $977,443,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,246,092 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $714,578,000 after buying an additional 56,948 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 58,829.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,043,051 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $598,106,000 after buying an additional 1,041,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 650,387 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $372,945,000 after buying an additional 11,429 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on URI shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $745.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $780.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $793.00 to $796.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $638.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $377,079.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,431,557.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $377,079.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,431,557.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,341,742. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Trading Up 3.8 %

NYSE URI opened at $646.73 on Friday. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $387.01 and a 12 month high of $732.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $660.38 and a 200-day moving average of $645.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $43.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.75.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.35 by $0.80. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 36.44%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.87 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.66%.

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.