Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 70,913 Shares of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) by 76.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Donaldson by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,717,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $856,509,000 after acquiring an additional 33,139 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Donaldson by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,994,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $269,014,000 after acquiring an additional 231,424 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Donaldson by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,520,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $169,804,000 after acquiring an additional 71,707 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI lifted its position in Donaldson by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 2,209,279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,795,000 after acquiring an additional 367,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Donaldson by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,615,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,804,000 after acquiring an additional 129,189 shares in the last quarter. 82.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James Owens sold 18,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 20,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,255,656.92. This trade represents a 48.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 28,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 28,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,961,279.48. This represents a 50.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 76,700 shares of company stock valued at $5,164,799. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Donaldson Price Performance

NYSE DCI opened at $71.07 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $65.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.01. 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 Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.45 and a 1-year high of $78.95.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 29.07%. On average, equities analysts predict that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Donaldson from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com cut Donaldson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Donaldson presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.33.

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.