D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 539 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in United Rentals during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. lifted its position in United Rentals by 80.0% during the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 45 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management bought a new position in United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. bought a new position in United Rentals during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on URI. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Baird R W upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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 research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $829.00.

United Rentals Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of URI opened at $708.42 on Thursday. 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 moving average of $735.61 and a 200 day moving average of $769.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.68. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. On average, research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.93 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.48%.

About United Rentals

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.