Rafferty Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,688 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ingersoll Rand were worth $3,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of IR. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Ingersoll Rand in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ingersoll Rand by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ingersoll Rand in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 95.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on IR. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ingersoll Rand from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ingersoll Rand from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ingersoll Rand from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Ingersoll Rand from $100.00 to $91.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ingersoll Rand from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.91.

Insider Transactions at Ingersoll Rand

In related news, insider Elizabeth Meloy Hepding sold 3,500 shares of Ingersoll Rand stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $293,230.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,986 shares in the company, valued at $920,407.08. The trade was a 24.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Ingersoll Rand Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IR opened at $84.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.90 billion, a PE ratio of 40.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.42. Ingersoll Rand Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.61 and a 1-year high of $106.03. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $77.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.03.

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. Ingersoll Rand had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 11.59%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ingersoll Rand Inc. will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

Ingersoll Rand Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.10%. Ingersoll Rand’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.96%.

Ingersoll Rand announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Ingersoll Rand

Ingersoll Rand Inc provides various mission-critical air, gas, liquid, and solid flow creation technologies services and solutions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Industrial Technologies and Services, and Precision and Science Technologies. The Industrial Technologies and Services segment designs, manufactures, markets, and services air and gas compression, vacuum, and blower products; fluid transfer equipment and loading systems; and power tools and lifting equipment, including associated aftermarket parts, consumables, air treatment equipment, controls, other accessories, and services under the under the Ingersoll Rand, Gardner Denver, Nash, CompAir, Elmo Rietschle brands, etc.