AlphaQuest LLC Decreases Stake in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) by 44.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 17,757 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Donaldson were worth $1,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DCI. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Donaldson in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Donaldson by 89.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 781 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Donaldson by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Donaldson in the fourth quarter valued at about $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DCI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Donaldson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Donaldson news, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 29,500 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.89, for a total transaction of $2,032,255.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 28,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,951,929.26. The trade was a 51.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.60, for a total transaction of $946,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,785,992. This trade represents a 34.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Donaldson Stock Performance

DCI opened at $69.84 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.04. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.10 and a twelve month high of $78.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $69.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $870.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.32 million. Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.07% and a net margin of 11.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.58%.

About Donaldson

Donaldson Company, Inc manufactures and sells filtration systems and replacement parts worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Mobile Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Life Sciences. Its Mobile Solutions segment provides replacement filters for air and liquid filtration applications, such as air filtration systems; liquid filtration systems for fuel, lube, and hydraulic applications; exhaust and emissions systems and sensors; indicators; and monitoring systems.