Graham Capital Management L.P. Acquires 20,305 Shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR)

Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) by 448.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,305 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Pentair were worth $2,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PNR. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Pentair by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,187,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Pentair by 5.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 219,061 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,422,000 after acquiring an additional 11,392 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Pentair by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Pentair by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 35,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Pentair during the 4th quarter valued at about $989,000. 92.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pentair Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE PNR opened at $93.52 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.45. Pentair plc has a one year low of $72.63 and a one year high of $110.71. The company has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.11 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 last year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pentair plc will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pentair news, Director David A. /Wi Jones sold 6,558 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 26,313 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,591.22. The trade was a 19.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Pentair from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered Pentair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Pentair from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho set a $100.00 price target on Pentair in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.93.

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.