Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Stake Trimmed by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,206 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,930 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Danaher were worth $43,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in Danaher by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its position in Danaher by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,696,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in Danaher by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its position in Danaher by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock opened at $205.92 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $243.86. The stock has a market cap of $147.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $196.80 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on DHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Danaher in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 target price on Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.