Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) by 125.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 196,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,300 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned 0.12% of Pentair worth $19,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PNR. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pentair during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pentair by 753.8% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in Pentair by 230.8% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its stake in shares of Pentair by 144.9% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pentair during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pentair Stock Performance

NYSE:PNR opened at $97.11 on Thursday. Pentair plc has a twelve month low of $72.63 and a twelve month high of $110.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.11. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.44.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.10. Pentair had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 20.94%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pentair plc will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David A. /Wi Jones sold 6,558 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.94, for a total value of $589,826.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,313 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,591.22. This trade represents a 19.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PNR. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Pentair and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Pentair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Pentair from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Pentair from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Pentair from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.93.

Pentair Profile

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.