New England Research & Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR)

New England Research & Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Pentair were worth $931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Pentair by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pentair in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $859,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Pentair by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 98,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,528,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Pentair by 3.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Pentair by 90.2% during the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 5,841 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Pentair

In related news, EVP Philip M. Rolchigo sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.67, for a total value of $357,615.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,916,853.44. This represents a 15.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on PNR. Mizuho upped their price objective on Pentair from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Pentair from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Pentair from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Pentair in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Pentair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.07.

Pentair Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of PNR stock opened at $101.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Pentair plc has a 1 year low of $71.40 and a 1 year high of $110.71. The company has a market cap of $16.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.39.

Pentair Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. This is a boost from Pentair’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Pentair’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

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.