Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Flowserve Corporation (NYSE:FLS)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Flowserve Corporation (NYSE:FLS - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,409,828 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 67,380 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.26% of Flowserve worth $654,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 28,222 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,378,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Flowserve by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,676 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Flowserve by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 15,407 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowserve by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,887 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Flowserve by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 36,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 93.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowserve Price Performance

FLS stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,033,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,733,266. Flowserve Corporation has a 12 month low of $37.34 and a 12 month high of $65.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.99.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.13. Flowserve had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 6.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. On average, analysts expect that Flowserve Corporation will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowserve Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 26th. Flowserve's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Kirk Wilson sold 10,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,979,571.12. This represents a 21.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on FLS shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Flowserve from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Flowserve from $71.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Flowserve from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on shares of Flowserve in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $65.78.

Flowserve 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.