Traynor Capital Management Inc. Raises Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Traynor Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,092 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $4,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Rentals by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,179,328 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,905,379,000 after purchasing an additional 186,931 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,383,296 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,506,819,000 after buying an additional 43,715 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,756,009 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $624,121,000 after buying an additional 170,958 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth about $586,415,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.8% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,441,997 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $569,394,000 after acquiring an additional 39,917 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,145,485.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of United Rentals from $510.00 to $718.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of United Rentals from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $572.20.

United Rentals Trading Up 0.1 %

United Rentals stock traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $721.11. 433,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 594,661. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $663.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $544.38. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $325.15 and a 52 week high of $732.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.85 by $0.41. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 42.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 18.44%.

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.