Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR – Get Rating) by 52.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,245,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,476,144 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Pentair were worth $100,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PNR. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Pentair by 10.5% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 16,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Pentair by 54.2% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 5,692 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in Pentair by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 22,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after buying an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its position in Pentair by 0.3% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 126,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,146,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Pentair by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 14,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,098 shares during the last quarter. 90.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pentair Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE PNR opened at $57.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.12. Pentair plc has a 1-year low of $38.55 and a 1-year high of $60.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.02 million. Pentair had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 11.88%. Pentair’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Pentair plc will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

Pentair Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 4th. Investors of record on Friday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Pentair’s payout ratio is 29.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on PNR. Citigroup boosted their price target on Pentair from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Pentair from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Pentair from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Pentair from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Pentair from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.14.

Pentair Company Profile

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Pentair plc engages in the provision of water solutions for residential, commercial, industrial, infrastructure, and agriculture applications. Its portfolio of solutions enables people, businesses, and industries to access clean, safe water, reduce water consumption, and recover and reuse it. The firm operates through the following business segments: Consumer Solutions and Industrial & Flow Technologies.