Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Cuts Stock Position in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL decreased its position in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 389,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 14,400 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 0.33% of Donaldson worth $26,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Donaldson by 94.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,745 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares during the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Donaldson during the 4th quarter valued at about $943,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 439,538 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,394,000 after acquiring an additional 23,758 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Donaldson by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 574,146 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,669,000 after acquiring an additional 158,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Donaldson by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 925 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. 82.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Donaldson news, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 28,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.22, for a total transaction of $1,972,770.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 28,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,961,279.48. This trade represents a 50.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James Owens sold 18,700 shares of Donaldson 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 a total of 76,700 shares of company stock worth $5,164,799 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DCI shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Donaldson from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com cut 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.33.

Donaldson Trading Up 0.5 %

DCI traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $62.76. 492,334 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 575,041. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. 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 data on Thursday, February 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $870.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $908.32 million. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 29.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Donaldson's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.58%.

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.