Needham Investment Management LLC Buys 7,500 Shares of nVent Electric plc (NYSE:NVT)

Needham Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in nVent Electric plc (NYSE:NVT) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 160,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC’s holdings in nVent Electric were worth $10,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in nVent Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $384,749,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of nVent Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $197,434,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of nVent Electric by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,630,000 after buying an additional 210,690 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of nVent Electric by 743.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,215,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,017,000 after buying an additional 1,953,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of nVent Electric by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,723,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,499,000 after buying an additional 224,657 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

nVent Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVT opened at $66.67 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. nVent Electric plc has a twelve month low of $41.71 and a twelve month high of $86.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.07 and its 200-day moving average is $64.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24.

nVent Electric (NYSE:NVT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $809.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $790.74 million. nVent Electric had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 10.09%. nVent Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that nVent Electric plc will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

nVent Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. nVent Electric’s payout ratio is 22.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lynnette R. Heath sold 4,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.35, for a total transaction of $247,915.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,003,997.75. This trade represents a 11.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NVT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on nVent Electric from $86.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded nVent Electric from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup cut their price target on nVent Electric from $85.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on nVent Electric from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, CL King raised nVent Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

nVent Electric Profile

nVent Electric plc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, markets, installs, and services electrical connection and protection solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Enclosures, Electrical & Fastening Solutions, and Thermal Management.