Is Pentair, Ltd. Registered Share (PNR) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds? – Pall Corporation (PLL), Flowserve Corporation (FLS)

Pentair, Ltd. Registered Share (NYSE:PNR) shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund interest of late.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are many gauges shareholders can use to watch the equity markets. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outpace the broader indices by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Equally as integral, positive insider trading activity is another way to break down the world of equities. Obviously, there are many stimuli for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a peek at the recent action encompassing Pentair, Ltd. Registered Share (NYSE:PNR).

How have hedgies been trading Pentair, Ltd. Registered Share (NYSE:PNR)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 28 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 8% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

Of the funds we track, Larry Robbins’s Glenview Capital had the largest position in Pentair, Ltd. Registered Share (NYSE:PNR), worth close to $172.4 million, comprising 2.4% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Jean-Marie Eveillard, which held a $97.1 million position; the fund has 0.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors, Joe DiMenna’s ZWEIG DIMENNA PARTNERS and Alexander Mitchell’s Scopus Asset Management.

As industrywide interest jumped, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Jean-Marie Eveillard, established the biggest position in Pentair, Ltd. Registered Share (NYSE:PNR). First Eagle Investment Management had 97.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Alexander Mitchell’s Scopus Asset Management also made a $16.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new PNR positions are Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, George Soros’s Soros Fund Management, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Pentair, Ltd. Registered Share (NYSE:PNR)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time period, Pentair, Ltd. Registered Share (NYSE:PNR) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 12 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Pentair, Ltd. Registered Share (NYSE:PNR). These stocks are Ingersoll-Rand PLC (NYSE:IR), Pall Corporation (NYSE:PLL), Flowserve Corporation (NYSE:FLS), Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ROP), and Dover Corp (NYSE:DOV). This group of stocks are the members of the diversified machinery industry and their market caps are closest to PNR’s market cap.