Short Interest in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) Declines By 8.5%

Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,290,000 shares, a drop of 8.5% from the October 31st total of 1,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 519,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Donaldson Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of DCI stock traded up $0.71 on Wednesday, reaching $73.39. 263,763 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 496,096. The stock has a market cap of $8.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $75.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.43. Donaldson has a 1-year low of $60.78 and a 1-year high of $78.95.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.47% and a net margin of 11.54%. The firm had revenue of $900.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Donaldson will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. StockNews.com raised Donaldson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Donaldson presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Insider Activity at Donaldson

In related news, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.16, for a total value of $182,900.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 28,334 shares in the company, valued at $2,072,915.44. The trade was a 8.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott J. Robinson sold 83,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.04, for a total value of $6,189,744.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,702 shares in the company, valued at $2,791,456.08. The trade was a 68.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 167,805 shares of company stock worth $12,310,222. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donaldson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Donaldson by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,981,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $220,380,000 after buying an additional 73,234 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Donaldson by 26.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Donaldson by 33.0% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 4,908 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Donaldson by 32.6% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Donaldson by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,448,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $180,522,000 after purchasing an additional 118,156 shares during the last quarter. 82.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.