Scharf Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 916,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,697,000. Donaldson makes up 1.8% of Scharf Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Scharf Investments LLC owned about 0.77% of Donaldson as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Donaldson during the 4th quarter valued at about $943,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Donaldson by 5.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 439,538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,394,000 after buying an additional 23,758 shares in the last quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Donaldson by 18.1% during the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 67,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,941,000 after buying an additional 10,280 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Donaldson by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 28,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.81% of the company’s stock.

Donaldson Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of DCI opened at $71.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.35 and a 1-year high of $78.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.88 and a 200 day moving average of $72.61.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $900.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.88 million. Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.07% and a net margin of 11.56%. Donaldson’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on DCI. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Donaldson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Donaldson currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Donaldson news, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.60, for a total value of $946,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,785,992. The trade was a 34.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Donaldson Profile

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.