Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS - Free Report) by 75.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,690 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 27,133 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Flowserve were worth $499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Flowserve by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 229,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,857,000 after acquiring an additional 34,645 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Flowserve during the fourth quarter worth $613,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew 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 acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flowserve in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Flowserve by 107.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 82,946 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,771,000 after buying an additional 42,908 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.93% of the company's stock.

Flowserve Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLS traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.87. The stock had a trading volume of 134,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,292,502. Flowserve Co. has a 1 year low of $37.34 and a 1 year high of $65.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.48. The company has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.21.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.13. Flowserve had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Flowserve Co. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowserve Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Flowserve's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on FLS shares. Mizuho set a $60.00 target price on Flowserve in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Flowserve from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Flowserve from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Flowserve from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Flowserve from $71.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.00.

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.