Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 33,900 Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 33,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,215,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DCI. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Donaldson in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in Donaldson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Donaldson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Donaldson by 792.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 455 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Donaldson in the second quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DCI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Donaldson from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Donaldson in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Donaldson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Donaldson has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Donaldson news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 18,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.51, for a total value of $1,374,637.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 41,961 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,553.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 18,700 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.51, for a total value of $1,374,637.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 41,961 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,553.11. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willard D. Oberton sold 4,500 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.54, for a total transaction of $330,930.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,035,954.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 79,407 shares of company stock worth $5,817,942 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.58% of the company's stock.

Donaldson Trading Down 0.4 %

Donaldson stock traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $71.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 357,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 442,099. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.05 and a 1 year high of $75.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's fifty day moving average is $71.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.38.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $876.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $874.34 million. Donaldson had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 28.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Donaldson's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.57%.

Donaldson 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.