Pentair (NYSE:PNR) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 654,842 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the previous session’s volume of 1,038,165 shares.The stock last traded at $101.68 and had previously closed at $102.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PNR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Pentair from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Pentair from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pentair in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Pentair from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Pentair in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.07.

Pentair Trading Down 0.5 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.19. The firm has a market cap of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Pentair Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Philip M. Rolchigo sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.67, for a total value of $357,615.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pentair

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP increased its position in Pentair by 105.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pentair by 753.8% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pentair by 165.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 525 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of Pentair by 144.9% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Pentair in the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

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.