Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) Downgraded to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on DCI. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Donaldson Stock Performance

Donaldson stock opened at $67.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Donaldson has a 1 year low of $65.10 and a 1 year high of $78.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $69.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.05.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $870.00 million during 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Donaldson will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. Donaldson’s payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.60, for a total transaction of $946,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,785,992. This represents a 34.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 29,500 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.89, for a total transaction of $2,032,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 28,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,951,929.26. The trade was a 51.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Donaldson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Donaldson during the 4th quarter worth about $90,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Donaldson during the fourth quarter worth about $719,000. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Donaldson during the fourth quarter worth about $247,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Donaldson by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 436,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,425,000 after buying an additional 6,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Donaldson by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 495,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,387,000 after acquiring an additional 111,895 shares in the last quarter. 82.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.