First Trust Advisors LP Sells 34,872 Shares of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its position in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 891,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 34,872 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.75% of Donaldson worth $60,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Donaldson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,828,000. Scharf Investments LLC bought a new position in Donaldson in the 4th quarter worth $61,697,000. Capital Counsel LLC NY lifted its position in shares of Donaldson by 489.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Counsel LLC NY now owns 656,957 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $44,246,000 after purchasing an additional 545,457 shares during the period. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI boosted its stake in shares of Donaldson by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 2,209,279 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $148,795,000 after purchasing an additional 367,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Donaldson by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,512,667 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $101,878,000 after purchasing an additional 299,302 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.81% of the company's stock.

Donaldson Stock Performance

DCI stock traded up $0.11 on Monday, hitting $65.69. The company had a trading volume of 43,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,869. 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 Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.45 and a 12-month high of $78.95. The stock has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $66.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.16.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $870.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $908.32 million. Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.07% and a net margin of 11.56%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Donaldson's payout ratio is 31.58%.

Insider Transactions at Donaldson

In other news, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 29,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.89, for a total value of $2,032,255.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 28,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,951,929.26. This trade represents a 51.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Owens sold 18,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.02, for a total value of $1,159,774.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,255,656.92. This trade represents a 48.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,700 shares of company stock worth $5,164,799 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on DCI. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Donaldson from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Donaldson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.33.

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.