Robert W. Baird Boosts Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) Price Target to $80.00

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $76.00 to $80.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company's stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on DCI. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Donaldson in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an underweight rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Donaldson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Donaldson currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $67.50.

Donaldson Stock Up 0.2 %

DCI traded up $0.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $74.30. The company had a trading volume of 344,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 447,270. The company has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Donaldson has a one year low of $57.05 and a one year high of $75.44. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $70.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.87.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $876.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $874.34 million. Donaldson had a return on equity of 28.52% and a net margin of 10.82%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Donaldson will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Donaldson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.57%.

Insider Transactions at Donaldson

In related news, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 3,027 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.09, for a total transaction of $221,243.43. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 34,334 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,472.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Willard D. Oberton sold 4,500 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.54, for a total transaction of $330,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,685 shares in the company, valued at $2,035,954.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 3,027 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.09, for a total value of $221,243.43. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 34,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,509,472.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,407 shares of company stock worth $5,817,942 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Donaldson by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,957,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $772,799,000 after purchasing an additional 43,490 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Donaldson by 3.9% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,996,071 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $571,026,000 after acquiring an additional 413,360 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 2.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,900,690 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $338,203,000 after acquiring an additional 132,979 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Donaldson by 2.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,440,692 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $264,843,000 after purchasing an additional 113,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of Donaldson by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,816,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $184,045,000 after purchasing an additional 42,365 shares during the period. 82.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Donaldson Company Profile

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.