JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stake in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,992,891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,134,365 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 10.01% of Dover worth $2,126,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $2,650,899,000 after purchasing an additional 224,091 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Dover by 0.9% during the fourth 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 period. Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 worth $402,119,000 after buying an additional 61,298 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Dover by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,177,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $330,785,000 after purchasing an additional 274,713 shares during the last quarter. 83.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dover Trading Up 0.2 %

DOV opened at $141.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.28. Dover Co. has a 1-year low of $114.49 and a 1-year high of $160.66.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last posted its 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). Dover had a net margin of 12.04% and a return on equity of 27.33%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Dover Co. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dover Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Dover’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Dover’s payout ratio is 28.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 4,631 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 49,938 shares in the company, valued at $7,091,196. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on DOV. StockNews.com lowered Dover from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Dover from $170.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Dover from $155.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.38.

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