HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,047 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Flowserve were worth $2,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Flowserve in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Flowserve in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Flowserve by 64.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Flowserve in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in Flowserve in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 93.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowserve Price Performance

Shares of FLS opened at $50.65 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.31. The company has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Flowserve Co. has a twelve month low of $43.66 and a twelve month high of $65.08.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Flowserve had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 6.20%. As a group, analysts predict that Flowserve Co. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowserve Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Flowserve’s payout ratio is 39.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Flowserve from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Flowserve from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Flowserve from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Flowserve from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Flowserve from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowserve currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.60.

About Flowserve

Flowserve Corporation designs, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through Flowserve Pump Division (FPD) and Flow Control Division (FCD) segments. The FPD segment offers custom and pre-configured pumps and pump systems, mechanical seals, auxiliary systems, replacement parts, upgrades, and related aftermarket services; and equipment services, including installation and commissioning services, seal systems spare parts, repairs, advanced diagnostics, re-rate and upgrade solutions, retrofit programs, and machining and asset management solutions, as well as manufactures a gas-lubricated mechanical seal for use in high-speed compressors for gas pipelines and in the oil and gas production and process markets.