IFM Investors Pty Ltd Boosts Position in Pentair plc $PNR

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,099 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Pentair were worth $5,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Avanza Fonder AB raised its holdings in Pentair by 142.1% in the 4th quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 38,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,055,000 after acquiring an additional 22,858 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 305,166 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Pentair by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,484,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $366,787,000 after purchasing an additional 647,162 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Pentair by 624.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 362,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,766,000 after purchasing an additional 312,574 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Pentair by 38.2% during the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 132,134 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,635,000 after purchasing an additional 36,498 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pentair Stock Performance

Shares of PNR stock opened at $76.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Pentair plc has a 52 week low of $69.93 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.99.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Pentair had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 15.98%.Pentair’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pentair plc will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

Pentair Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PNR. Barclays decreased their target price on Pentair from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price target (down from $135.00) on shares of Pentair in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Pentair in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Pentair from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Pentair from $122.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.86.

Pentair Company 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.