Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 598,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 104,362 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Donaldson worth $40,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Donaldson by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 13,786 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 6,308 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Donaldson by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 13,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 4,625 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Donaldson during the fourth quarter worth $1,311,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Donaldson in the 4th quarter valued at $13,865,000. 82.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 sale, the director owned 20,246 shares in the company, valued at $1,255,656.92. This represents a 48.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DCI shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $69.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Donaldson in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Donaldson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Donaldson from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Donaldson from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th.

Donaldson Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE DCI opened at $71.26 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.45 and a 52-week high of $78.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.16.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. Donaldson had a return on equity of 28.86% and a net margin of 9.94%. The company had revenue of $940.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $936.02 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Donaldson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Donaldson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Donaldson's payout ratio is 40.27%.

Donaldson Company 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.

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