MQS Management LLC Invests $472,000 in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,395 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $472,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Pentair in the 4th quarter worth about $36,568,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Pentair by 4.8% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 75,337 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,590,000 after buying an additional 3,476 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Pentair by 6.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,075 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Pentair by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 32,225 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,243,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pentair in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pentair Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PNR opened at $107.09 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $99.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.09. Pentair plc has a 1-year low of $74.25 and a 1-year high of $110.71.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 15.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. 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 previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Pentair plc will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Pentair's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PNR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Pentair from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Pentair from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Pentair from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $95.00 target price on shares of Pentair and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Pentair from $114.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pentair news, Director David A. /Wi Jones sold 6,558 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.94, for a total transaction of $589,826.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,313 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,591.22. The trade was a 19.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

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.

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