Vestcor Inc Buys 21,097 Shares of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Vestcor Inc grew its stake in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) by 181.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,097 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Donaldson were worth $2,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Donaldson by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Donaldson in the third quarter valued at about $1,274,000. Curi RMB Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 2.6% in the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 11,383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new position in Donaldson during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,142,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Donaldson by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 10,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 82.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Donaldson Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:DCI opened at $68.51 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.80. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.10 and a fifty-two week high of $78.95.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.07% and a net margin of 11.56%. The firm had revenue of $870.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.32 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DCI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered Donaldson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Donaldson currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

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.