D.A. Davidson & CO. Decreases Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,521 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 539 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $4,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in United Rentals by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,416,568 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,956,768,000 after buying an additional 85,325 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 82,462.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,606,661 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,300,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,566,802 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,264,326,000 after purchasing an additional 9,256 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 6.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 996,014 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $862,110,000 after purchasing an additional 57,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 purchasing an additional 105,287 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Rentals Stock Performance

URI opened at $708.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $46.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.68. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $596.48 and a 1-year high of $896.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $735.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $769.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. Equities analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a $1.79 dividend. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

URI has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $829.00.

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.