Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $69.17, but opened at $74.00. Donaldson shares last traded at $71.10, with a volume of 139,427 shares traded.

The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $940.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $936.02 million. Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.07% and a net margin of 11.56%. The business's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS.

Donaldson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from Donaldson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Donaldson's payout ratio is 31.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DCI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Donaldson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Donaldson from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Donaldson presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Donaldson news, Director James Owens sold 18,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.02, for a total transaction of $1,159,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,246 shares in the company, valued at $1,255,656.92. This trade represents a 48.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 28,500 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.22, for a total transaction of $1,972,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 28,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,961,279.48. The trade was a 50.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DCI. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Donaldson by 19.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 83,738 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,171,000 after purchasing an additional 13,568 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Donaldson by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Donaldson by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,401 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. increased its position in shares of Donaldson by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 6,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the period. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Donaldson in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. 82.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Donaldson Price Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $66.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.94. The company has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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.