Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Acquires 2,575 Shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,575 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Pentair were worth $8,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Pentair by 3.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pentair by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 219,061 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,422,000 after purchasing an additional 11,392 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Pentair by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 35,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Pentair during the 4th quarter valued at $989,000. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its position in Pentair by 144.9% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pentair Price Performance

Shares of PNR stock opened at $98.13 on Tuesday. Pentair plc has a twelve month low of $72.63 and a twelve month high of $110.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.11.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.10. Pentair had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Pentair plc will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Pentair from $118.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Baird R W raised shares of Pentair from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Pentair from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Northcoast Research upgraded Pentair from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Pentair from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.93.

Insider Activity at Pentair

In other Pentair news, Director David A. /Wi Jones sold 6,558 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.94, for a total transaction of $589,826.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 26,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,366,591.22. This trade represents a 19.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.