Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) Stake Cut by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 296,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 56,867 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Pentair were worth $28,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PNR. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Pentair by 352.5% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,577,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,695,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228,635 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Pentair in the 1st quarter worth approximately $97,083,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Pentair by 91.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,082,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $159,655,000 after buying an additional 996,325 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Pentair by 289.6% during the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 956,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,305,000 after acquiring an additional 710,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Pentair by 4.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,704,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $557,860,000 after acquiring an additional 258,134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Pentair Stock Performance

PNR stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $108.96. 925,026 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,542,700. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.19. Pentair plc has a 52 week low of $63.09 and a 52 week high of $110.71.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Pentair had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 16.29%. The firm had revenue of $993.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pentair plc will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PNR shares. StockNews.com lowered Pentair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Pentair from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Pentair from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Pentair from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pentair in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pentair news, EVP Philip M. Rolchigo sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.67, for a total value of $357,615.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,916,853.44. This trade represents a 15.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Pentair

Pentair plc provides various water solutions in the United States, Western Europe, China, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia, Canada, and Japan. The company operates through three segments: Flow, Water Solutions, and Pool. The Flow segment designs, manufactures, and sells fluid treatment and pump products and systems, including pressure vessels, gas recovery solutions, membrane bioreactors, wastewater reuse systems and advanced membrane filtration, separation systems, water disposal pumps, water supply pumps, fluid transfer pumps, turbine pumps, solid handling pumps, and agricultural spray nozzles for fluid delivery, ion exchange, desalination, food and beverage, separation technologies in the oil and gas industry, residential and municipal wells, water treatment, wastewater solids handling, pressure boosting, circulation and transfer, fire suppression, flood control, agricultural irrigation, and crop spray in residential, commercial, and industrial markets.