O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Buys 289 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,670 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $11,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,566,802 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,264,326,000 after purchasing an additional 9,256 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in United Rentals by 6.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 996,014 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $862,110,000 after buying an additional 57,002 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $695,716,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 15.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 787,877 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $637,968,000 after buying an additional 105,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 7.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Rentals Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of URI stock opened at $625.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $40.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $585.27 and a 1 year high of $896.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $684.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $754.67.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 earnings per share (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, equities analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 18.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on URI shares. Robert W. Baird raised United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W upgraded United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on United Rentals from $775.00 to $765.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $804.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total transaction of $701,910.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.