Axa S.A. Purchases 36,129 Shares of Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV)

Axa S.A. boosted its holdings in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,129 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A. owned 0.16% of Dover worth $39,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Dover by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 281,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,330,000 after buying an additional 35,109 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA purchased a new stake in shares of Dover during the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Dover by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Dover by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 65,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,145,000 after purchasing an additional 4,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Dover by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 61,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,519,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. 84.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Dover from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Dover from $192.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target on shares of Dover in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Dover to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.63.

Dover Trading Down 1.3 %

Dover stock opened at $190.22 on Thursday. Dover Co. has a 12-month low of $127.25 and a 12-month high of $193.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $181.98 and a 200 day moving average of $179.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.15. Dover had a net margin of 17.58% and a return on equity of 24.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Dover Co. will post 9.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Dover Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is an increase from Dover’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Dover’s payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Insider Transactions at Dover

In related news, SVP Ivonne M. Cabrera sold 1,220 shares of Dover stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $225,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 47,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,706,100. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Richard J. Tobin sold 25,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.96, for a total transaction of $4,549,727.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 182,928 shares in the company, valued at $33,285,578.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ivonne M. Cabrera sold 1,220 shares of Dover stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $225,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 47,060 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,100. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,383 shares of company stock valued at $8,169,883 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.