Ieq Capital LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Flowserve Corporation $FLS

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC reduced its ownership in Flowserve Corporation by 40%, selling 47,090 shares during the first quarter, ending the period with 70,534 shares worth approximately $3.4 million.
• Flowserve recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, indicating a 1.6% yield, with the record date set for September 26th.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for Flowserve, with a target price averaging $65.78, following recent increases from firms like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.

Ieq Capital LLC cut its stake in Flowserve Corporation (NYSE:FLS - Free Report) by 40.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,534 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 47,090 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Flowserve worth $3,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FLS. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Flowserve in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in Flowserve by 415.7% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 593 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Flowserve by 71.5% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,029 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC acquired a new stake in Flowserve during the 1st quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Flowserve by 47.2% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,089 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. 93.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on FLS. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Flowserve from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Flowserve from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Flowserve from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Flowserve from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on Flowserve in a report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Flowserve presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.78.

Flowserve Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of FLS stock traded up $0.66 during trading on Thursday, hitting $54.14. 450,819 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,020,611. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $53.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.24. Flowserve Corporation has a 52-week low of $37.34 and a 52-week high of $65.08.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. Flowserve had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 18.25%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Flowserve Corporation 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, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 26th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Flowserve's dividend payout ratio is 38.01%.

Insider Transactions at Flowserve

In other news, insider Kirk Wilson sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.22, for a total transaction of $532,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 37,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,979,571.12. This represents a 21.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Flowserve Company Profile

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.