B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Trims Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG trimmed its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,260 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,448 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $7,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in URI. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in United Rentals by 241.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 41 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management bought a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,390,128. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on URI shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Baird R W raised United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $804.15.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $625.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $40.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $684.08 and its 200 day moving average is $754.67. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $585.27 and a one year high of $896.98.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 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 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.48%.

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.