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

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

DCI has been the topic of a number of other reports. 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 target price on Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Donaldson Price Performance

Shares of DCI opened at $68.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85. Donaldson has a one year low of $65.91 and a one year high of $78.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.70 and its 200-day moving average is $72.34.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Donaldson news, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 26,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,785,992. This trade represents a 34.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Donaldson

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Argent Trust Co boosted its position in Donaldson by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 4,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Donaldson by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Donaldson by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Donaldson by 48.8% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC boosted its position in Donaldson by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 10,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. 82.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.