Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Increases Stake in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,448,601 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,285 shares during the quarter. Pentair comprises 1.0% of Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned about 0.88% of Pentair worth $145,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PNR. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Pentair in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Pentair by 753.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Pentair by 230.8% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 344 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of Pentair by 144.9% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 507 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Pentair in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pentair Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:PNR traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $93.52. 1,195,867 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,502,425. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $86.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.45. Pentair plc has a 12-month low of $72.63 and a 12-month high of $110.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.11.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $988.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Pentair plc will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Pentair's payout ratio is currently 25.84%.

Insider Transactions at Pentair

In related news, Director David A. /Wi Jones sold 6,558 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.94, for a total transaction of $589,826.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,313 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,591.22. This represents a 19.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PNR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $95.00 target price on Pentair and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pentair from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Pentair from $114.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Pentair from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Pentair from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pentair presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.