Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) Stock Price

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $67.00 to $68.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential downside of 6.55% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on DCI. StockNews.com raised Donaldson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Donaldson from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Donaldson Price Performance

NYSE:DCI traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $72.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 41,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 495,160. The company has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Donaldson has a fifty-two week low of $60.78 and a fifty-two week high of $78.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $75.11 and a 200-day moving average of $73.43.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $900.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $888.88 million. Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.47% and a net margin of 11.54%. Donaldson’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Donaldson will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Donaldson

In other news, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.16, for a total value of $182,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 28,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,072,915.44. This trade represents a 8.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James Owens sold 5,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $373,765.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,788 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,111.12. The trade was a 22.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 167,805 shares of company stock valued at $12,310,222. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donaldson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Donaldson by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 147,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,575,000 after purchasing an additional 3,792 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Donaldson by 2.1% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,411,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Donaldson by 46.2% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 13,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 4,320 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in Donaldson by 1,554.0% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 146,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,473,000 after purchasing an additional 137,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Donaldson by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 67,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,941,000 after purchasing an additional 10,280 shares in the last quarter. 82.81% of the stock is 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.