Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 34,738 Shares of Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) by 80.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,738 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Flowserve were worth $4,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FLS. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Flowserve by 197.6% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 913,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,207,000 after acquiring an additional 606,416 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 34.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,664,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,055,000 after purchasing an additional 422,141 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Flowserve during the fourth quarter worth about $14,546,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 555,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,930,000 after purchasing an additional 220,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 745,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,876,000 after purchasing an additional 165,449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.93% of the company’s stock.

Flowserve Price Performance

Shares of FLS opened at $50.65 on Friday. Flowserve Co. has a 52-week low of $43.66 and a 52-week high of $65.08. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $57.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.25. The firm has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.43.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Flowserve Co. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowserve Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Flowserve’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FLS. Mizuho boosted their price target on Flowserve from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Flowserve from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Flowserve from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com cut Flowserve from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Flowserve from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.60.

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.