Franklin Resources Inc. Has $13.75 Million Stake in Polaris Inc. (NYSE:PII)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Polaris Inc. (NYSE:PII) by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 169,004 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,418 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of Polaris worth $13,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Polaris by 311.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 387,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,307,000 after acquiring an additional 292,992 shares during the last quarter. Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Polaris in the second quarter valued at approximately $15,363,000. RWWM Inc. raised its stake in Polaris by 192.3% during the 2nd quarter. RWWM Inc. now owns 272,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,334,000 after purchasing an additional 179,244 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Polaris by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 555,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,232,000 after purchasing an additional 171,366 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Polaris during the 3rd quarter worth about $12,670,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Polaris Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of PII stock opened at $57.86 on Friday. Polaris Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.70 and a 12-month high of $100.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 1.51.

Polaris (NYSE:PII) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. Polaris had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Polaris Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Polaris Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. Polaris’s dividend payout ratio is 73.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PII. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Polaris from $87.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Polaris from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Polaris from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Polaris from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Polaris from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.09.

About Polaris

Polaris Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets powersports vehicles in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Off-Road, On-Road, and Marine. The company offers off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles; military and commercial ORVs; snowmobiles; motorcycles; and moto-roadsters, quadricycles, and boats.