Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Polaris Inc. (NYSE:PII)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Polaris Inc. (NYSE:PII - Free Report) by 231.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,400 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 68,700 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.18% of Polaris worth $5,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Polaris by 132.6% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 900,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,909,000 after buying an additional 513,542 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Polaris during the fourth quarter worth about $24,659,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Polaris in the fourth quarter valued at about $21,776,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Polaris by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 995,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Polaris by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 776,473 shares of the company's stock worth $44,740,000 after purchasing an additional 241,926 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Polaris Price Performance

Shares of PII traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $34.64. 327,369 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,083,991. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.05. Polaris Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.92 and a fifty-two week high of $90.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Polaris (NYSE:PII - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. Polaris had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 13.78%. As a group, research analysts predict that Polaris Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Polaris Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.67 dividend. This is a positive change from Polaris's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Polaris's dividend payout ratio is presently 136.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PII. Baird R W lowered Polaris from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Polaris from $67.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Polaris from $76.00 to $57.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp cut shares of Polaris from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Polaris from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.64.

Polaris Company Profile

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.