Legato Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Legato Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,688 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,290 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Danaher during the third quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR opened at $202.22 on Thursday. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $196.80 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $231.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.06 billion, a PE ratio of 38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 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 (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 period last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.45%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Danaher from $309.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.