Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 70,913 Shares of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI - Free Report) by 76.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,892 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 70,913 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Donaldson were worth $1,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Donaldson by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,717,289 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $856,509,000 after purchasing an additional 33,139 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Donaldson by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,994,275 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $269,014,000 after buying an additional 231,424 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Donaldson by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,520,586 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $169,804,000 after buying an additional 71,707 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI grew its stake in shares of Donaldson by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 2,209,279 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $148,795,000 after acquiring an additional 367,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Donaldson by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,615,481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $108,804,000 after acquiring an additional 129,189 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DCI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Donaldson from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Donaldson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Donaldson has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.33.

Insider Activity at Donaldson

In other Donaldson news, Director James Owens sold 18,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.02, for a total transaction of $1,159,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,255,656.92. This represents a 48.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 28,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.22, for a total value of $1,972,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 28,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,961,279.48. The trade was a 50.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 76,700 shares of company stock valued at $5,164,799. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Donaldson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DCI traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.21. 317,664 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 573,019. 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 12 month low of $57.45 and a 12 month high of $78.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.05 and a 200-day moving average of $69.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.01.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

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.