Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) Shares Purchased by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) by 45,876.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,469 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Donaldson were worth $774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DCI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,717,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $856,509,000 after purchasing an additional 33,139 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Donaldson by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,981,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $220,380,000 after buying an additional 73,234 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Donaldson by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,448,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $180,522,000 after buying an additional 118,156 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,267,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,351,000 after buying an additional 92,624 shares during the period. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Donaldson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,697,000. 82.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.60, for a total transaction of $946,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,785,992. This represents a 34.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 29,500 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.89, for a total transaction of $2,032,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 28,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,951,929.26. The trade was a 51.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,000 shares of company stock worth $4,951,425 in the last three months. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Donaldson Stock Performance

Shares of DCI opened at $68.16 on Tuesday. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.10 and a 52 week high of $78.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market capitalization of $8.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $69.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.65.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.02). Donaldson had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 29.07%. The company had revenue of $870.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.32 million. Research analysts expect that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Donaldson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

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.