Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

DCI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Donaldson from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Donaldson in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a market perform rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $69.67.

Donaldson Stock Performance

Shares of DCI stock opened at $73.69 on Friday. Donaldson has a one year low of $57.05 and a one year high of $78.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $72.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.05.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.06. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 29.47%. The company had revenue of $935.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.12 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Donaldson will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.44%.

Insider Activity at Donaldson

In other Donaldson news, CEO Tod E. Carpenter sold 30,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.69, for a total value of $2,247,502.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 256,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,662,575.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Scott J. Robinson sold 83,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.04, for a total transaction of $6,189,744.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,702 shares in the company, valued at $2,791,456.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Tod E. Carpenter sold 30,919 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.69, for a total value of $2,247,502.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 256,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,662,575.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 158,310 shares of company stock valued at $11,614,271. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donaldson

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new position in shares of Donaldson during the first quarter valued at $660,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Donaldson by 2.6% in the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 147,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,575,000 after buying an additional 3,792 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Donaldson by 21.7% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 110,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,245,000 after buying an additional 19,670 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Donaldson by 254.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,672,000 after buying an additional 16,071 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Donaldson in the first quarter valued at about $933,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.81% of the company’s stock.

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.