KBC Group NV Lowers Stake in Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR)

KBC Group NV cut its stake in shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,037,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 164,803 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Pentair were worth $104,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Pentair by 862.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 441,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,212,000 after acquiring an additional 395,962 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pentair in the third quarter valued at $26,748,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Pentair by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,756,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $856,257,000 after buying an additional 259,922 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Pentair by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,704,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $557,860,000 after buying an additional 258,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Pentair by 44.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 672,870 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,589,000 after acquiring an additional 207,830 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Pentair Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:PNR opened at $103.02 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $104.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.21. Pentair plc has a 12 month low of $70.98 and a 12 month high of $110.71. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is a positive change from Pentair’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PNR has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Pentair from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pentair in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Pentair in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Pentair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Pentair from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.07.

About Pentair

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.