Scharf Investments LLC Has $52.57 Million Stock Holdings in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Scharf Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) by 14.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 783,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 132,107 shares during the quarter. Donaldson accounts for about 1.6% of Scharf Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Scharf Investments LLC owned about 0.66% of Donaldson worth $52,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Donaldson by 94.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,745 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Donaldson by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 379,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,478,000 after buying an additional 7,663 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Donaldson during the first quarter worth about $912,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Donaldson by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 470,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,695,000 after acquiring an additional 31,064 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 574,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,669,000 after acquiring an additional 158,487 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DCI shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Donaldson from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Donaldson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $69.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Donaldson in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Donaldson Stock Performance

Shares of Donaldson stock opened at $68.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.69 and its 200-day moving average is $68.26. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a one year low of $57.45 and a one year high of $78.95.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $940.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $936.02 million. Donaldson had a return on equity of 28.86% and a net margin of 9.94%. Donaldson’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Donaldson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.27%.

Insider Transactions at Donaldson

In related news, Director James Owens sold 18,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.02, for a total transaction of $1,159,774.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,246 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.