Peregrine Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 146,319 Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 146,319 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $6,031,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned 0.11% of Flowserve at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG raised its position in Flowserve by 332.7% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 269,672 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,725,000 after purchasing an additional 207,346 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 4.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 48,645 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,936,000 after buying an additional 2,235 shares during the period. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new stake in shares of Flowserve in the fourth quarter worth approximately $866,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flowserve in the third quarter worth approximately $29,745,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,260,754 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $527,380,000 after buying an additional 71,320 shares during the period. 93.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowserve Trading Down 0.8 %

FLS traded down $0.39 during trading on Thursday, hitting $47.09. 861,383 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,090,747. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.70. Flowserve Co. has a 1 year low of $32.05 and a 1 year high of $48.31.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion. Flowserve had a return on equity of 14.44% and a net margin of 4.32%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Flowserve Co. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Flowserve Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Flowserve's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Flowserve's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FLS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Flowserve from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Flowserve from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Flowserve from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Flowserve from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Flowserve from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.75.

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.