Vest Financial LLC Buys Shares of 44,924 Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 44,924 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,013,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Donaldson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,828,000. Capital Counsel LLC NY raised its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 489.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Counsel LLC NY now owns 656,957 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $44,246,000 after buying an additional 545,457 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 367,383 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,512,667 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $101,878,000 after buying an additional 299,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 626,776 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,214,000 after buying an additional 258,800 shares during the last quarter. 82.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Donaldson Price Performance

NYSE:DCI traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.39. 545,589 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 563,674. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a one year low of $57.45 and a one year high of $78.95. The company has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.77. 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 (NYSE:DCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.07% and a net margin of 11.56%. The firm had revenue of $940.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $936.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Donaldson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. This is a boost from Donaldson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Donaldson's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Donaldson

In other Donaldson news, Director James Owens sold 18,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was 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 represents a 48.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 directly owns 28,334 shares in the company, valued at $1,961,279.48. This represents a 50.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Donaldson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Donaldson from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Donaldson from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $69.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Donaldson in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.