Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Buys 11,469 Shares of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its position in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) by 45,876.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,469 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Donaldson were worth $774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Donaldson by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Donaldson by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Donaldson by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in Donaldson by 1.2% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Donaldson by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. 82.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Donaldson Stock Up 1.4 %

DCI opened at $68.16 on Tuesday. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.10 and a twelve month high of $78.95. The firm has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last issued 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $908.32 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Donaldson’s payout ratio is 31.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DCI shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Donaldson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Donaldson news, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.60, for a total value of $946,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,785,992. This trade represents a 34.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 29,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the president now owns 28,334 shares in the company, valued at $1,951,929.26. The trade was a 51.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 72,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,951,425. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.