Aviva PLC Sells 59,264 Shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR)

Aviva PLC cut its holdings in shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 387,769 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 59,264 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.23% of Pentair worth $39,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PNR. Quarry LP grew its position in Pentair by 105.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pentair by 753.8% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in shares of Pentair by 144.9% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pentair in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Pentair in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Pentair Stock Down 3.5 %

Pentair stock opened at $78.66 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $12.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $92.63 and its 200 day moving average is $98.58. Pentair plc has a 12-month low of $71.89 and a 12-month high of $110.71.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.06. Pentair had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $972.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $970.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pentair plc will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Pentair from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Pentair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Pentair in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Pentair from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Pentair from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pentair has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.27.

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.