Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Reduces Holdings in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 99 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Dover were worth $4,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Dover by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,214,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,191,531,000 after acquiring an additional 56,149 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Dover by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,228,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $616,945,000 after purchasing an additional 25,993 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Dover by 5.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,085,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $591,676,000 after buying an additional 149,378 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Dover by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 984,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $188,815,000 after buying an additional 17,193 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Dover by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 828,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $155,352,000 after buying an additional 16,763 shares in the last quarter. 84.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dover Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Dover stock opened at $181.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $24.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.24. Dover Co. has a twelve month low of $168.20 and a twelve month high of $222.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $194.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.45.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.20. Dover had a return on equity of 21.03% and a net margin of 32.95%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Dover Co. will post 9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dover Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Dover’s payout ratio is 10.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on DOV. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Dover from $202.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Dover from $196.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Dover from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Dover in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Dover from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dover has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.91.

About Dover

Dover Corporation provides equipment and components, consumable supplies, aftermarket parts, software and digital solutions, and support services worldwide. The company's Engineered Products segment provides various equipment, component, software, solution, and services that are used in vehicle aftermarket, waste handling, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, industrial winch and hoist, and fluid dispensing end-market.