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

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

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Donaldson has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Donaldson Stock Up 0.9 %

DCI stock opened at $69.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.32 and its 200 day moving average is $72.03. Donaldson has a one year low of $65.10 and a one 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 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $908.32 million. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 29.07%. On average, research analysts forecast that Donaldson will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.58%.

Insider Transactions at Donaldson

In other news, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 29,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.89, for a total value of $2,032,255.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 28,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,951,929.26. This trade represents a 51.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 26,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,785,992. This represents a 34.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donaldson

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DCI. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Donaldson by 511.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 3,162 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Donaldson by 17.8% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Donaldson by 23.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 126,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,328,000 after purchasing an additional 23,927 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Donaldson during the third quarter worth about $4,238,000. Finally, Washington Trust Bank purchased a new position in Donaldson during the third quarter worth about $203,000. 82.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.