Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $32.62 Million Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 142,115 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,531 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $32,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DHR. Barclays reduced their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank began coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 price target on Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.76.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $211.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $150.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $220.07 and its 200-day moving average is $240.63. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $196.80 and a one year high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.24%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.