Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Holdings in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR - Free Report) by 229.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 786,362 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 547,419 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.48% of Pentair worth $68,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Pentair in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in Pentair by 230.8% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 344 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Pentair in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Pentair by 128.4% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 507 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Pentair in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. 92.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Pentair from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Pentair from $118.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Mizuho set a $100.00 price objective on Pentair in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Pentair from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $95.00 price objective on Pentair and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $107.14.

Pentair Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE PNR traded down $2.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $96.53. 761,210 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,493,813. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.10. 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 company's 50 day moving average price is $92.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.73. Pentair plc has a 12 month low of $72.63 and a 12 month high of $110.71.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.38 million. Pentair had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 15.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Pentair plc will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Pentair's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pentair

In other Pentair news, Director David A. /Wi Jones sold 6,558 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,366,591.22. This represents a 19.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Pentair

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.