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

StockNews.com cut shares of Donaldson (NYSE:DCI - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on DCI. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of 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 raised 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 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 stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Donaldson Price Performance

Shares of DCI traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.53. 390,581 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 477,061. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.27. The company has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Donaldson has a one year low of $65.91 and a one year high of $78.95.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.07% and a net margin of 11.56%. The firm had revenue of $900.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $888.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. Donaldson's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Donaldson will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Donaldson's payout ratio is 31.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $1,785,992. This represents a 34.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Donaldson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in shares of Donaldson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Donaldson by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Donaldson in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Donaldson by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 595 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Donaldson by 52.0% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.81% of the company's stock.

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.