Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) Position Lessened by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its position in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,969,006 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 92,713 shares during the period. Pentair accounts for 2.6% of Impax Asset Management Group plc's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned approximately 3.02% of Pentair worth $433,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PNR. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pentair during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Pentair during the first quarter valued at $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pentair during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Pentair during the first quarter valued at $38,000. 92.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pentair Stock Performance

PNR traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $106.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,008,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,465,963. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Pentair plc has a 1 year low of $74.25 and a 1 year high of $110.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $98.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.94. The company has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.09.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.10. Pentair had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 15.87%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $988.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pentair plc will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Pentair's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PNR. Wall Street Zen raised Pentair from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Pentair from $118.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Pentair from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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. Finally, Baird R W raised Pentair from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two 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 has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $107.14.

Insider Activity

In other Pentair news, Director David A. /Wi Jones sold 6,558 shares of Pentair stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,366,591.22. The trade was a 19.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

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.