Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) Hits New 1-Year 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 $111.36 and last traded at $110.4550, with a volume of 32296 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $109.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $110.00 target price on Donaldson in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Donaldson to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised Donaldson from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $72.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Donaldson in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Donaldson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.25.

Donaldson Trading Up 1.0%

The firm has a market cap of $12.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.40.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.01. Donaldson had a return on equity of 30.24% and a net margin of 10.25%.The business had revenue of $935.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $922.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. Donaldson’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.38%.

Insider Activity at Donaldson

In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 19,800 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.04, for a total transaction of $1,822,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,993 shares in the company, valued at $4,049,115.72. This trade represents a 31.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bradley J. Pogalz sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.57, for a total value of $51,828.62. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 434 shares in the company, valued at $39,741.38. This represents a 56.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 26,235.7% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,707,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701,387 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Donaldson during the fourth quarter worth about $120,186,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Donaldson by 6,069.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,178,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,492,000 after buying an additional 1,159,777 shares in the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new stake in shares of Donaldson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,872,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,825,916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $195,977,000 after acquiring an additional 203,957 shares during the period. 82.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Donaldson Company Profile

Donaldson Company, Inc (NYSE: DCI) is a global provider of filtration systems and replacement parts for a wide range of industries. The company develops and manufactures air, liquid and gas filtration solutions for engine and industrial applications, helping customers improve performance, lower emissions and extend equipment life. Donaldson’s product portfolio includes engine air intake filters, fuel filters, hydraulic filters, compressor filters, dust collection systems and gas turbine air intake systems.

Serving markets such as agriculture, construction, mining, power generation, aerospace and original equipment manufacturing, Donaldson operates through two primary business segments: Engine Products and Industrial Products.