Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lowered its position in shares of Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 375,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 858 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Dover were worth $57,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DOV. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Dover during the fourth quarter worth about $1,307,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Dover by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 3,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Dover in the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Dover by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 42,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,549,000 after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Dover by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 39,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,001,000 after acquiring an additional 3,477 shares in the last quarter. 84.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 6,000 shares of Dover stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.71, for a total value of $1,060,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,164,699.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Dover news, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.71, for a total transaction of $1,060,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,164,699.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 18,410 shares of Dover stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.01, for a total transaction of $3,001,014.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,909 shares in the company, valued at $3,897,406.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,910 shares of company stock worth $4,318,059. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Dover Trading Down 0.5 %

Dover stock opened at $168.61 on Friday. Dover Co. has a 12-month low of $127.25 and a 12-month high of $178.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.01. Dover had a return on equity of 25.95% and a net margin of 12.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Dover Co. will post 9.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dover Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Dover’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DOV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Dover from $177.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Dover from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Dover from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised Dover from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Dover from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.13.

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.