Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 79,197 Shares of Pentair plc $PNR

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) by 77.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 181,061 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 79,197 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Pentair were worth $18,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avanza Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Pentair by 142.1% in the fourth quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 38,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,055,000 after purchasing an additional 22,858 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Pentair by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,638,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $274,810,000 after purchasing an additional 305,166 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Pentair by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,484,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $366,787,000 after purchasing an additional 647,162 shares during the last quarter. IMC Chicago LLC bought a new stake in Pentair in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,635,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Pentair by 624.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 362,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,766,000 after buying an additional 312,574 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pentair

In related news, EVP Philip M. Rolchigo sold 6,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.22, for a total transaction of $670,207.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,003,289.12. The trade was a 18.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Pentair Price Performance

PNR opened at $74.12 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.97. Pentair plc has a twelve month low of $70.73 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $11.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Pentair had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. Pentair’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Pentair plc will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Pentair Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on PNR shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Pentair from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Pentair from $122.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Seaport Research Partners cut their price objective on Pentair from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Pentair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Pentair from $110.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.86.

Pentair Profile

Pentair plc (NYSE: PNR) is a global provider of water treatment and fluid management solutions. The company designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of products that move, treat, monitor and control the flow of water and other fluids across residential, commercial, industrial and municipal markets. Pentair’s offerings are focused on improving water quality, conserving resources and enabling efficient fluid handling in applications from household water systems and pools to large-scale industrial and municipal installations.

Product lines include pumps and pumping systems, water filtration and purification equipment, valves and controls, heat exchangers, pool and spa systems, and a range of aftermarket parts and services.