William Blair Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Donaldson Company, Inc. $DCI

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) by 26,235.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,707,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,701,387 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Donaldson were worth $151,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Donaldson during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Donaldson during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Donaldson by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,024 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of Donaldson by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Donaldson by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.81% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Donaldson news, Director James Owens sold 13,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.21, for a total value of $1,226,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,023.65. This represents a 37.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,765,184. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Donaldson Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:DCI opened at $83.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $86.02 and a 200 day moving average of $91.90. The company has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.71 and a 12-month high of $112.84.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.07). Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.85% and a net margin of 10.09%.The business had revenue of $896.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $898.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.97 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Donaldson from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Donaldson from $104.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group set a $96.00 price objective on Donaldson in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Donaldson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Donaldson from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.20.

About Donaldson

Donaldson Company, Inc (NYSE: DCI) is a global provider of filtration systems and replacement parts for a wide range of industries. The company develops and manufactures air, liquid and gas filtration solutions for engine and industrial applications, helping customers improve performance, lower emissions and extend equipment life. Donaldson’s product portfolio includes engine air intake filters, fuel filters, hydraulic filters, compressor filters, dust collection systems and gas turbine air intake systems.

Serving markets such as agriculture, construction, mining, power generation, aerospace and original equipment manufacturing, Donaldson operates through two primary business segments: Engine Products and Industrial Products.