Gradient Investments LLC Grows Holdings in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV)

Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 117,049 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,669 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC owned 0.08% of Dover worth $17,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Dover by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,895,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,650,899,000 after acquiring an additional 224,091 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Dover by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,992,891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,126,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,365 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Dover by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,786,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $512,662,000 after buying an additional 33,496 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its position in Dover by 1.9% during the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 3,314,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $402,119,000 after buying an additional 61,298 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Dover by 1.8% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,893,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $438,594,000 after buying an additional 51,836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.97% of the company’s stock.

Dover Stock Performance

Dover stock opened at $144.45 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Dover Co. has a 1-year low of $114.49 and a 1-year high of $160.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.33.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Dover had a return on equity of 27.33% and a net margin of 12.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Dover Co. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dover Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 31st were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Dover’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Dover’s payout ratio is presently 28.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dover news, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 4,631 shares of Dover stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total transaction of $657,602.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 49,938 shares in the company, valued at $7,091,196. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Dover from $170.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Dover from $155.00 to $152.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Dover from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Dover presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.38.

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 aftermarket vehicle service, solid waste handling, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, industrial winch and hoist, and fluid dispensing end-market.