Squarepoint Ops LLC Decreases Position in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS)

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its stake in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS - Free Report) by 70.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,291 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 58,583 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Flowserve were worth $1,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FLS. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in Flowserve by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,255,059 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $302,271,000 after buying an additional 2,193,904 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Flowserve in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,629,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its position in Flowserve by 307.1% in the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,888,917 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $108,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,948 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Flowserve by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,068,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $118,953,000 after acquiring an additional 714,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Flowserve by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,440,518 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,859,000 after buying an additional 527,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.93% of the company's stock.

Flowserve Stock Down 6.3%

Flowserve stock traded down $3.19 on Wednesday, hitting $47.33. 9,265,608 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,331,976. Flowserve Co. has a 1 year low of $37.34 and a 1 year high of $65.08. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $46.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.07. The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Flowserve Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Flowserve's payout ratio is presently 39.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FLS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Flowserve from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Flowserve from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Baird R W raised shares of Flowserve from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho set a $60.00 target price on shares of Flowserve in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Flowserve from $72.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Flowserve presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average 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.