Robeco Schweiz AG Buys New Stake in Pentair plc $PNR

Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new position in shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 525,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,859,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PNR. Amundi raised its position in shares of Pentair by 13.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 4,237,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,208,000 after purchasing an additional 491,758 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Pentair by 1,459.8% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,270,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,617,000 after buying an additional 1,189,122 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Pentair by 52.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,215,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $105,844,000 after buying an additional 420,140 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pentair in the third quarter worth $41,204,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Pentair by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 503,272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,840,000 after buying an additional 183,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Pentair Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of PNR stock opened at $55.30 on Friday. Pentair plc has a 12 month low of $51.13 and a 12 month high of $111.94. The firm has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.82 and a 200-day moving average of $68.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $932.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $943.24 million. Pentair had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 16.24%. Pentair’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Pentair plc will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Pentair Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 6th. Investors of record on Friday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 23rd. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PNR shares. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Pentair from $85.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of Pentair in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Pentair to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $103.00) on shares of Pentair in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Pentair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pentair has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.19.

About Pentair

Pentair plc (NYSE: PNR) is a water treatment and management company that designs and manufactures products and systems for residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational applications. Its offerings include water filtration, softening, and purification systems; pumps, valves, controls, and related equipment; and solutions that help customers manage water quality, flow, and conservation.

The company also serves the swimming pool and spa market through equipment such as pumps, filters, heaters, lighting, automation systems, and water-treatment products.