Top Industrial Picks Of Impax Asset Management: Xylem Inc (XYL), Pentair plc. Ordinary Share (PNR), Danaher Corporation (DHR)

Pentair plc. Ordinary Share (NYSE:PNR) comes second in the investment portfolio of Ian Simm, with the money manager holding 1.12 million shares of the company, valued at $77.04 million. Simm increased his stake in the company by 1% during the second quarter. It has been a difficult year so far for the company, with its shares declining by 8.48% year-to-date. Despite beating the markets’ earnings and revenue expectations for the second quarter, Pentair plc Ordinary Share (NYSE:PNR) felt the negative impact of the slowdown in the energy sector. Its earnings per share were down by 6% year-over-year to $0.96, while its revenue slid by 9% to $1.7 billion. Randall J. Hogan, CEO and Chairman of Pentair plc Ordinary Share (NYSE:PNR), said, “…Many of our served markets, especially those in energy and industrial, remain challenged and we do not expect them to recover in the second half of the year.” In terms of hedge fund investors holding positions in the company, Corsair Capital Management, led by Jay Petscheck and Steven Major, reported a position in the company as of the end of the second quarter consisting of 255,014 shares with a market value of $17.53 million.

Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) is another industrial stock that Simm has similar sentiment towards, as Impax Asset Management upped its stake in the company by 16% to 699,339 shares valued at $59.92 million. It is the only stock among the three to enjoy growth in its share price so far this year, with a year-to-date gain of 5.33%. Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) announced the acquisition of Pall Corporation (NYSE:PLL) for $13.8 billion, to which the shareholders of Pall Corporation have agreed to. In addition, Danaher Corp announced a split-off transaction with an intention to split it into two businesses, including its industrial unit under a new name and its science & technology growth unit, which will retain the current name. Pall Corporation will be a part of the new science and technology unit, which will also include the life-science and diagnostic businesses of the conglomerate. The spinoff is likely to close by the end of 2016 and the company is already conducting a split-off exchange offer for its shareholders. In the second quarter, Jean-Marie Eveillard‘s First Eagle Investment Management initiated a new position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) of 2.59 million shares valued at $221.28 million at the end of the second quarter.

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