Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University reduced its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,837 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 593 shares during the period. Danaher makes up about 0.9% of Vanderbilt University’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Vanderbilt University’s holdings in Danaher were worth $4,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Danaher by 3.2% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,231 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 957 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Well Done LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $987,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 0.9% during the third quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 10.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DHR opened at $211.92 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $252.68. The company has a market cap of $153.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.14, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $210.04 and a one year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DHR. Barclays dropped their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $309.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Danaher Company Profile

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.