KBC Group NV Buys 39,659 Shares of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

KBC Group NV lifted its position in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) by 1,447.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 42,398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,659 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Donaldson were worth $2,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DCI. Dudley & Shanley Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 263,600 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Donaldson during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,513,000. Capital Counsel LLC NY purchased a new stake in Donaldson in the third quarter worth $8,218,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Donaldson by 912.7% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 113,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,331,000 after acquiring an additional 101,853 shares in the last quarter. 82.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DCI shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Donaldson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Insider Activity at Donaldson

In other news, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.60, for a total value of $946,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,785,992. This trade represents a 34.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Donaldson Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:DCI opened at $71.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.61. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.35 and a 12 month high of $78.95.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $900.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $888.88 million. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 29.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.40%.

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.