Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 235,670 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 19,133 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Pentair worth $20,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PNR. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pentair during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pentair in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pentair in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in shares of Pentair by 230.8% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in shares of Pentair in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pentair Stock Performance

NYSE PNR opened at $106.87 on Thursday. 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 52-week low of $74.25 and a 52-week high of $110.71. The business's 50-day moving average price is $99.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.12. The firm has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.09.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.10. Pentair had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 15.87%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pentair plc will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Pentair Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PNR. Baird R W upgraded Pentair from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Pentair from $118.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pentair from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho set a $100.00 price objective on Pentair in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.50.

Insider Activity at Pentair

In related news, Director David A. /Wi Jones sold 6,558 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,366,591.22. This represents a 19.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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