Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Cuts Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division reduced its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,604 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 613 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DHR. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 3.2% in the third quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC now owns 238,092 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $66,194,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the third quarter worth $217,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the second quarter worth $363,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. boosted its stake in Danaher by 1.2% during the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 202,263 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,233,000 after buying an additional 2,465 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Danaher by 1.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 847,348 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $235,583,000 after buying an additional 11,216 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:DHR traded up $5.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $235.38. 1,135,959 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,926,664. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $236.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.92, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $222.53 and a 12-month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.59 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 16.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $333.00 to $311.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price objective for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.05.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services that advance, accelerate, and integrate the development and manufacture of therapeutics; cell line and cell culture media development services; cell culture media, process liquids and buffers for manufacturing, chromatography resins, filtration technologies, aseptic fill finish; single-use hardware and consumables and services, such as the design and installation of full manufacturing suites; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes, and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.