Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Position in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,981,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,234 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.49% of Donaldson worth $220,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Donaldson by 359.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Donaldson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Donaldson by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Donaldson by 72.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in Donaldson by 221.0% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. 82.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Donaldson Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:DCI opened at $72.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.79 and a fifty-two week high of $78.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.35.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $900.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.88 million. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 29.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DCI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Donaldson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Donaldson from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James Owens sold 5,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $373,765.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,111.12. This trade represents a 22.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willard D. Oberton sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.37, for a total value of $198,099.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,053,112.71. This represents a 8.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 167,805 shares of company stock valued at $12,310,222 over the last ninety days. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Donaldson Company 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.