Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $14.55 Million in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 252,890 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $14,546,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.19% of Flowserve at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Flowserve by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,477,208 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $775,209,000 after purchasing an additional 101,668 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Flowserve by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,255,059 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $302,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193,904 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Flowserve by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,068,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $118,953,000 after acquiring an additional 714,063 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Flowserve by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,832,204 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $105,388,000 after purchasing an additional 167,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Flowserve during the 4th quarter valued at $94,629,000. 93.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowserve Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FLS traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.88. 732,451 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,267,935. Flowserve Co. has a twelve month low of $37.34 and a twelve month high of $65.08. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.97. The company has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.22.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.07). Flowserve had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Flowserve Co. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowserve Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Flowserve's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on FLS. Citigroup cut their target price on Flowserve from $72.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Flowserve from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Flowserve from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $71.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Baird R W raised Flowserve from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Flowserve from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.30.

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.