Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 319,319 Shares of Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) by 350.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 410,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 319,319 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.30% of Dover worth $72,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DOV. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Dover in the fourth quarter worth about $316,228,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dover by 35,832.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 563,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $98,917,000 after purchasing an additional 561,487 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Dover during the fourth quarter valued at $99,017,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in Dover by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 2,182,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $409,530,000 after buying an additional 524,092 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Dover by 352.9% during the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 385,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,260,000 after buying an additional 300,124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on DOV. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Dover in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Mizuho set a $215.00 target price on shares of Dover in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Dover from $244.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Dover from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Dover from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.75.

Dover Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:DOV opened at $178.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $172.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Dover Co. has a 12-month low of $143.04 and a 12-month high of $222.31.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.06. Dover had a return on equity of 21.03% and a net margin of 32.95%. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.95 EPS. Dover’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Dover Co. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Dover Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Dover’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.41%.

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.