Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Reduces Position in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC decreased its stake in shares of Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) by 58.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 599 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 838 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Flowserve were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FLS. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flowserve in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flowserve in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Flowserve in the third quarter valued at $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Flowserve by 64.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flowserve in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.93% of the company’s stock.

Flowserve Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of FLS opened at $46.48 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $59.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.34. The stock has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.43. Flowserve Co. has a 12 month low of $43.00 and a 12 month high of $65.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Flowserve Co. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowserve Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Flowserve’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FLS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Flowserve from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Flowserve from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Flowserve from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Flowserve from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Flowserve from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.