Dover (NYSE:DOV) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $191.68, but opened at $185.96. Dover shares last traded at $183.63, with a volume of 315,227 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on DOV. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Dover from $190.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded Dover to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target on shares of Dover in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Dover in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Dover from $192.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.00.

Dover Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $25.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $186.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.19. 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 (NYSE:DOV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Dover had a net margin of 17.58% and a return on equity of 24.94%. On average, analysts expect that Dover Co. will post 9.18 EPS for the current year.

Dover Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from Dover’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Dover’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 14,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $2,593,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,156,700. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Ivonne M. Cabrera sold 1,220 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $225,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,706,100. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 14,818 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $2,593,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,156,700. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,383 shares of company stock valued at $8,169,883. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dover

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Dover by 5.4% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 144,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,755,000 after acquiring an additional 7,478 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Dover by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dover during the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dover by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 50,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,316,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Dover by 91.0% in the third quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 7,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after buying an additional 3,713 shares during the last quarter. 84.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.