Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes $2.30 Million Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,271 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,304,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,855 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,464,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 445,214 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $313,627,000 after acquiring an additional 6,787 shares during the period. Retireful LLC purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $697,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 196.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 732,954 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $517,018,000 after acquiring an additional 52,037 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Argus increased their price objective on United Rentals from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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, Robert W. Baird upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 price objective for the company 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $829.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total value of $701,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,390,128. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Up 3.0 %

URI stock opened at $627.42 on Thursday. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $585.27 and a twelve month high of $896.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $40.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $698.05 and a 200 day moving average of $758.05.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.65 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. On average, research analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.