USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 10,631 Shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR)

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR - Free Report) by 29.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,082 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,631 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Pentair were worth $2,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PNR. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Pentair in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in Pentair by 753.8% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 333 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Pentair in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Pentair in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $95.00 target price on shares of Pentair and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho set a $100.00 target price on shares of Pentair in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Pentair from $118.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Pentair from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Pentair from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $113.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pentair

In related news, Director David A. /Wi Jones sold 6,558 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 26,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,366,591.22. This represents a 19.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Pentair Price Performance

Shares of Pentair stock traded up $0.08 on Thursday, reaching $98.89. 142,400 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,502,118. The firm's 50 day moving average is $89.42 and its 200-day moving average is $96.30. Pentair plc has a one year low of $72.63 and a one year high of $110.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $16.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.11.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $988.38 million. Pentair had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 20.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pentair plc will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Pentair's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.84%.

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.