Dover (NYSE:DOV) Hits New 52-Week High at $182.69

Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $182.69 and last traded at $182.31, with a volume of 11424 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $181.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DOV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Dover from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Dover from $187.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Dover from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Dover from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Dover from $185.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.75.

Dover Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $174.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.71. The company has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Dover had a return on equity of 25.04% and a net margin of 17.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Dover Co. will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Dover Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Dover’s dividend payout ratio is 19.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen M. Todd sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $256,785.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,955 shares in the company, valued at $3,929,666.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Stephen M. Todd sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $256,785.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,955 shares in the company, valued at $3,929,666.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 6,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,909 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dover

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Dover during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Dover during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Dover during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in Dover by 783.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Dover in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 84.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.