United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,496 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 287 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $2,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 4.2% during the third quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 324 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. First County Bank CT grew its position in United Rentals by 3.2% in the third quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 422 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. grew its position in United Rentals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 814 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in United Rentals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 788 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its position in United Rentals by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,794 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,002,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

URI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $956.00 price target (down previously from $963.00) on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $829.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,128. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Rentals Trading Up 0.7 %

United Rentals stock opened at $631.14 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $697.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $757.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $585.27 and a 12 month high of $896.98. The stock has a market cap of $41.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.65 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 18.48%.

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.