Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 2,819,390 Shares of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its position in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) by 94.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 162,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,819,390 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.14% of Donaldson worth $10,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Donaldson by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Donaldson by 89.6% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 781 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Donaldson by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Donaldson by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Donaldson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $91,000. 82.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Donaldson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Insider Transactions at Donaldson

In other news, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 29,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.89, for a total transaction of $2,032,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 28,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,951,929.26. This represents a 51.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Donaldson Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DCI opened at $59.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $68.15 and a 200-day moving average of $71.12. 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 12-month low of $57.45 and a 12-month high of $78.95.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $870.00 million for 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, equities research analysts forecast that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Donaldson’s payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

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.