Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Lowers Position in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Dover were worth $1,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DOV. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Dover in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Dover during the third quarter valued at $33,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Dover during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Dover during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Dover during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. 84.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dover Stock Down 0.1 %

Dover stock opened at $202.46 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $27.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $195.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Dover Co. has a twelve month low of $159.48 and a twelve month high of $222.31.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.20. Dover had a net margin of 32.95% and a return on equity of 21.03%. As a group, analysts expect that Dover Co. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Dover Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Dover’s payout ratio is presently 10.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Dover from $202.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Dover from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Dover in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded Dover from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $227.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Dover from $217.00 to $211.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.91.

Dover Company Profile

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.