Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on DCI. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Donaldson Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE DCI opened at $71.19 on Friday. 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 12 month low of $64.35 and a 12 month high of $78.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $70.88 and its 200 day moving average is $72.61. The stock has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.06.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $900.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.88 million. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 29.07%. Donaldson’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Donaldson will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio is 31.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.60, for a total value of $946,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,785,992. This trade represents a 34.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Donaldson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DCI. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Donaldson by 359.2% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Donaldson during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Donaldson by 52.0% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 72.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Donaldson by 89.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 781 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.