Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) by 76.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 70,913 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Donaldson were worth $1,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in Donaldson in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Donaldson by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Donaldson by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Donaldson by 162.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.81% of the company’s stock.

Donaldson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DCI opened at $71.07 on Monday. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.45 and a 1 year high of $78.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average is $65.92 and its 200 day moving average is $69.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.32 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on DCI. StockNews.com cut shares of Donaldson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 28,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.22, for a total value of $1,972,770.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 28,334 shares in the company, valued at $1,961,279.48. This represents a 50.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James Owens sold 18,700 shares of the company’s 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 owns 20,246 shares in the company, valued at $1,255,656.92. The trade was a 48.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,700 shares of company stock worth $5,164,799. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.