Cetera Advisors LLC Buys 3,672 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 146.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,176 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,672 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $4,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of United Rentals in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Rentals in the first quarter worth about $27,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $690.00, for a total transaction of $248,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,090 shares in the company, valued at $2,822,100. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

URI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $745.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $780.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $790.00 to $905.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $670.92.

United Rentals Stock Down 6.3 %

Shares of United Rentals stock traded down $45.06 on Friday, hitting $671.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,004,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 685,891. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.71. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $387.01 and a twelve month high of $789.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $668.99 and a 200-day moving average of $668.68.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $10.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.48 by $0.22. The company 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 prior year, the company earned $9.88 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.35 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 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.