Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 889 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,777 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $21,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the first quarter worth $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in United Rentals by 115.8% in the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 41 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Rentals in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on URI. Raymond James started coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $750.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $790.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $780.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on United Rentals from $774.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $745.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $675.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $690.00, for a total transaction of $248,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,822,100. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $773.29 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $715.08 and a 200-day moving average of $685.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.68. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $387.01 and a 12 month high of $801.39.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $10.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.48 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.35% and a return on equity of 35.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 17.66%.

About United Rentals

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.