Sylvest Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Sylvest Advisors LLC bought a new position in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,895 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $529,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DCI. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in shares of Donaldson during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Donaldson by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Donaldson by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 595 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Donaldson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Donaldson by 89.6% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 781 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. 82.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Donaldson Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE DCI traded down $0.29 on Wednesday, reaching $69.07. The company had a trading volume of 474,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 562,843. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.99. The company's fifty day moving average is $67.93 and its 200 day moving average is $68.24. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.45 and a 52-week high of $78.95.

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

Donaldson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from Donaldson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Donaldson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.27%.

Insider Transactions at Donaldson

In other news, Director James Owens sold 18,700 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $1,159,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,246 shares in the company, valued at $1,255,656.92. This trade represents a 48.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on DCI. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $69.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Donaldson in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Donaldson from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 assigned 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 an average price target of $70.00.

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.