Dover (NYSE:DOV) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

Dover (NYSE:DOV) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on DOV. Mizuho raised their price target on Dover from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Dover from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Dover from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays raised their price objective on Dover from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Dover from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Dover presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.75.

Dover Stock Up 0.6 %

DOV stock traded up $1.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $180.17. 1,104,009 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 968,794. Dover has a 12 month low of $127.25 and a 12 month high of $181.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.29. The company has a market capitalization of $24.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Dover had a return on equity of 25.95% and a net margin of 12.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Dover will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Dover

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

Institutional Trading of Dover

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Dover by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,689,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $567,426,000 after acquiring an additional 492,577 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Dover by 10.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,390,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $333,522,000 after acquiring an additional 226,646 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Dover by 5.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,724,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $240,601,000 after buying an additional 89,774 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Dover by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,428,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,778,000 after buying an additional 140,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in Dover by 160.2% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,428,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $199,319,000 after buying an additional 879,533 shares during the last quarter. 84.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.