Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) Sets New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $78.82 and last traded at $78.73, with a volume of 69287 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $77.45.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DCI. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Donaldson from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com raised Donaldson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Donaldson Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.04.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.06. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 29.47%. The company had revenue of $935.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.12 million. On average, analysts forecast that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Donaldson

In related news, CEO Tod E. Carpenter sold 30,919 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.69, for a total transaction of $2,247,502.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 256,742 shares in the company, valued at $18,662,575.98. The trade was a 10.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.33, for a total value of $314,952.35. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 30,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,261,057.22. The trade was a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 167,805 shares of company stock valued at $12,310,222 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donaldson

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DCI. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 359.2% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Donaldson by 408.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 1,372.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Donaldson in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Donaldson by 52.0% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.81% of the company’s stock.

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.