Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $84.42 and last traded at $83.74, with a volume of 428330 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DCI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Donaldson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Donaldson in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.33.

Donaldson Trading Up 0.6%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $79.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.99.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $802.50 million during the quarter. Donaldson had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 29.50%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Donaldson’s payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Donaldson news, insider Amy C. Becker sold 18,500 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.71, for a total value of $1,511,635.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 44,645 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,942.95. The trade was a 29.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Guillermo Briseno sold 13,500 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.03, for a total transaction of $1,066,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 25,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,000,170.27. This trade represents a 34.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 63,900 shares of company stock worth $5,129,264 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Donaldson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DCI. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Donaldson by 203.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Donaldson in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Donaldson by 5,112.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of Donaldson by 3,680.0% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Donaldson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 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.