Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Reduces Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 27.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 42 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 16 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $34,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 115.8% during the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 41 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 80.0% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 45 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 280.0% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 57 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Anthony S. Leopold sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $823.24, for a total value of $740,916.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,682,702.56. This represents a 30.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of URI opened at $856.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.68. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $454.71 and a 1 year high of $896.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $825.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $735.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $11.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.49 by ($0.69). The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.73% and a net margin of 17.12%. United Rentals’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $11.73 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on URI. Argus raised their target price on United Rentals from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $565.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of United Rentals from $800.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $930.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $751.67.

United Rentals Company 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.