Among its various products, Pentair manufactures desalinization plants. Photo: Flickr.com/David Shankbone
About Pentair plc
Pentair plc is a diversified industrial manufacturer focused on the water, food and energy industries with 30,000 employees. The company, with global corporate offices in Manchester, UK and U. S. headquarters in Minneapolis, MN, provides products, services and solutions for water and fluid management, thermal management and equipment protection.
Pentair Inc. was largely a power tools business until 2004 when the company sold that business line to another S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrat, Black & Decker. Pentair then reinvented itself as a fluid processing company by buying several liquid processing firms, including Wisconsin water technologies company WICOR.
In September 2012, Pentair Inc. and Tyco International Ltd. combined Tyco’s Flow Control International Ltd. (also known as Tyco Flow Control) with Pentair in an all-stock merger. Prior to the merger, Pentair Inc. was involved in water treatment, beverage filtration systems and thermal management. The new company, named Pentair Ltd., was twice the size of Pentair Inc. and now also supplied industrial valves and fluid control systems to the energy industry – refineries, electric companies and drilling firms. The new company joined the S&P 500 and became a Dividend Aristocrat when the merger was finalized on September 28, 2012.
The company later moved its headquarters to the UK and renamed itself Pentair plc.
Pentair has four business segments: (1) Valves & Controls, (2) Process Technologies, (3) Flow Technologies, and (4) Technical Solutions.
The Valves & Controls segment designs, manufactures, markets and services valves, fittings, controls, and actuators for the energy and industrial markets.
The Process Technologies segment designs, manufactures, markets and services water system products for filtration, separation, and fluid process management work in the food and beverage, water, wastewater, and aquaculture applications. More than half of the segment’s sales come from residential and commercial applications, with another quarter from the food and beverage industry.
The Flow Technologies segment designs, manufactures and markets products and services designed for the transfer and flow of clean water and purification of wastewater.
Finally, the Technical Solutions segment designs, manufactures, markets and services products that protect sensitive electronics and electronic equipment, and also provides thermal management solutions for temperature sensitive fluid applications.
The company is a member of the S&P 500 index and trades under the ticker symbol PNR.
Pentair’s Dividend and Stock Split History
Pentair has paid dividends since 1964 and started increasing dividends in 1977. The company met the Dividend Aristocrat criteria of 25 consecutive years of increasing regular dividend payments in 2001 but formally became an Aristocrat when it joined the S&P 500 in 2012. Pentair traditionally announces dividend increases in December, with the stock going ex-dividend at the end of January.
Pentair has compounded its payout at an average rate of 9.4% over the last 5 years and 8.7% over the last 10 years.
Pentair stock began trading on the NYSE on March 4, 1996 and since then has split once – a 2-for-1 split in June 2004.
Pentair’s Direct Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plans
Pentair has both direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans. Investors interested in participating in either of these plans can find information at ComputerShare’s Investment Center website. The dividend reinvestment plan allows you to reinvest dividends in full or in part; you can also choose to have the dividends directly deposited into your checking account.
From the perspective of an individual investor, Pentair makes the plans very attractive. The company pays all fees associated with buying shares, both directly and through dividend reinvestment. Pentair also pays the setup fee for new investors.
The minimum investment is $25 for all direct investments, either by check or by automatic debit.
When selling your shares in the plan, you’ll pay 12 cents per share sold plus a transaction fee of between $15 and $25, depending on the type of sell order (batch, market or day limit order). If you enter your order through a customer representative versus online, you’ll pay an additional fee of $15.
Helpful Links
Pentair’s Investor Relations Website
Current quote and financial summary for Pentair (finviz.com)
Information on the direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans for PNR