Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,758 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Dover worth $33,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Dover during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Dover during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Dover during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Dover during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Dover during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 84.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DOV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Dover from $196.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Dover from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded Dover from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $227.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Dover from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Dover from $205.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.91.

Dover Trading Down 2.9 %

DOV opened at $200.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $195.51 and a 200-day moving average of $192.47. Dover Co. has a 52 week low of $161.19 and a 52 week high of $222.31.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20. Dover had a return on equity of 21.03% and a net margin of 32.95%. Equities research analysts predict that Dover Co. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dover Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Dover’s payout ratio is 10.59%.

Dover Company 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.