Aristides Capital LLC Increases Stake in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Aristides Capital LLC grew its holdings in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) by 43.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,294 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Donaldson were worth $289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Donaldson in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,828,000. Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Donaldson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,697,000. Dudley & Shanley Inc. lifted its stake in Donaldson by 5,118.4% in the fourth quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 268,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,100,000 after acquiring an additional 263,600 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Donaldson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,471,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Donaldson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,865,000. 82.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Donaldson Stock Performance

Shares of Donaldson stock opened at $60.83 on Monday. 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 $59.95 and a 52 week high of $78.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $68.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.01.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.32 million. Research analysts forecast that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Donaldson news, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 28,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.22, for a total transaction of $1,972,770.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Donaldson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.