Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) Holdings Boosted by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly increased its stake in Pentair plc by 4,231.6%, owning about 0.38% of the company, valued at approximately $54.4 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, which equates to an annualized dividend yield of 0.97%.
• Pentair's recent earnings report indicated an EPS of $1.39, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 2.2%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR - Free Report) by 4,231.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 622,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 607,821 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.38% of Pentair worth $54,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Pentair in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pentair in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in Pentair by 230.8% in 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 in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Pentair during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pentair in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company's stock.

Pentair Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PNR traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $102.08. The stock had a trading volume of 362,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,553,587. Pentair plc has a 1 year low of $74.25 and a 1 year high of $110.71. The company has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.47.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Pentair had a return on equity of 21.62% and a net margin of 14.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. Pentair's revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pentair plc will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Pentair's payout ratio is currently 27.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on PNR shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Pentair from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Pentair from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Pentair from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Pentair from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Pentair from $107.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.36.

Pentair Company 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.