Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases 402,967 Shares of Pentair plc $PNR

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its Pentair stake by 1,985.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 423,266 shares valued at about $44.1 million.
• Pentair reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.22 versus $1.17 expected and revenue of $1.04 billion versus $1.03 billion anticipated.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, implying a $1.08 annual payout and a yield of about 1.5%; analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with a $107.86 price target.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR - Free Report) by 1,985.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 423,266 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 402,967 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.26% of Pentair worth $44,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Pentair by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 11,186 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Pentair by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,428,737 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $459,480,000 after acquiring an additional 137,980 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Pentair in the 4th quarter valued at about $261,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in Pentair by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,317 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp increased its position in Pentair by 87.1% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 11,318 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 5,269 shares in the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pentair Stock Down 0.6%

Pentair stock opened at $70.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.10. Pentair plc has a twelve month low of $70.59 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $82.82 and a 200-day moving average of $95.38.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. Pentair had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Pentair plc will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. Pentair's payout ratio is currently 26.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PNR has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (down from $135.00) on shares of Pentair in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Pentair from $112.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pentair from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Pentair from $107.00 to $101.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Pentair from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pentair presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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