Highland Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV)

Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,008 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Dover in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Dover in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Dover by 208.0% in the 1st quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its stake in Dover by 93.0% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Dover by 620.5% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DOV shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Dover from $192.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note 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 note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Dover from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dover currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.63.

Insider Activity at Dover

In related news, CEO Richard J. Tobin sold 25,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.96, for a total value of $4,549,727.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 182,928 shares in the company, valued at $33,285,578.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Richard J. Tobin sold 25,004 shares of Dover stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 182,928 shares in the company, valued at $33,285,578.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 4,341 shares of Dover stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.59, for a total transaction of $801,305.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,274,887.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Dover Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of DOV traded up $3.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $184.64. The company had a trading volume of 414,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 981,016. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Dover Co. has a 1-year low of $127.25 and a 1-year high of $192.31. The stock has a market cap of $25.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.22.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.15. Dover had a net margin of 17.58% and a return on equity of 24.94%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Dover Co. will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Dover Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This is a positive change from Dover’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Dover’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.79%.

Dover 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.