New England Research & Management Inc. Buys 4,970 Shares of Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR)

New England Research & Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR) by 33.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,970 shares during the quarter. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Ingersoll Rand were worth $1,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Ingersoll Rand by 325.0% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ingersoll Rand by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. 95.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ingersoll Rand Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IR opened at $80.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.44. Ingersoll Rand Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.61 and a 1-year high of $106.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.46.

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ingersoll Rand Inc. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Ingersoll Rand Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.10%. Ingersoll Rand’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Elizabeth Meloy Hepding sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $293,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $920,407.08. The trade was a 24.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vicente Reynal sold 38,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total value of $3,209,690.71. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 193,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,040,233.58. The trade was a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ingersoll Rand from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Ingersoll Rand from $100.00 to $91.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ingersoll Rand from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Ingersoll Rand from $94.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Ingersoll Rand from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ingersoll Rand has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.91.

Ingersoll Rand Company Profile

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.