Legal & General Group Plc Sells 32,537 Shares of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 237,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 32,537 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.20% of Donaldson worth $15,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Donaldson by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Donaldson by 89.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 781 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Donaldson by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 925 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Donaldson by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Donaldson by 61.9% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,206 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. 82.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DCI shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Donaldson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Donaldson from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Donaldson has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.33.

Donaldson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DCI traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $62.76. The stock had a trading volume of 492,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,703. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.59. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.01.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). The firm had revenue of $870.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $908.32 million. Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.07% and a net margin of 11.56%. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Donaldson's payout ratio is 31.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Donaldson

In other news, Director James Owens sold 18,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.02, for a total value of $1,159,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,255,656.92. This represents a 48.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 28,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 28,334 shares in the company, valued at $1,961,279.48. This trade represents a 50.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,700 shares of company stock valued at $5,164,799 in the last 90 days. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.