Banco Santander S.A. Invests $218,000 in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 310 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,416,568 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,956,768,000 after purchasing an additional 85,325 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in United Rentals by 0.6% in the 3rd 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. boosted its position in United Rentals by 6.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 996,014 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $862,110,000 after buying an additional 57,002 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake 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 worth $637,968,000 after buying an additional 105,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 732,954 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $517,018,000 after buying an additional 52,037 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI opened at $600.34 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $709.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $764.37. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $585.27 and a 12 month high of $896.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. As a group, analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on URI. Argus raised their price objective on United Rentals from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on United Rentals from $1,004.00 to $974.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Baird R W raised United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $829.00.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,128. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.