Verition Fund Management LLC Sells 138,711 Shares of Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS)

Verition Fund Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) by 51.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 130,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 138,711 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Flowserve were worth $6,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Flowserve by 155.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,624,919 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,429 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Flowserve during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,100,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Flowserve by 31.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,748,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,221,000 after buying an additional 663,631 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 5,256.0% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 612,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,452,000 after buying an additional 600,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Flowserve during the second quarter valued at $23,911,000. 93.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowserve Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLS opened at $61.02 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Flowserve Co. has a 12 month low of $37.66 and a 12 month high of $62.22. The company has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $55.77 and its 200 day moving average is $50.78.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.05). Flowserve had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 5.90%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Flowserve Co. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Flowserve from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Flowserve from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Flowserve from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $57.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Flowserve from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Flowserve from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.30.

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.