Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Holdings Boosted by Weitz Investment Management Inc.

Weitz Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 403,210 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 52,300 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up about 4.8% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Weitz Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Danaher worth $92,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Danaher by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,750,122 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,715,641,000 after acquiring an additional 315,912 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,358,206 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,056,996,000 after acquiring an additional 315,446 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,130,740,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Danaher by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,589,019 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,971,609,000 after acquiring an additional 441,012 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,578,945 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,051,097,000 after purchasing an additional 26,305 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DHR opened at $200.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $143.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a PEG 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 current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $213.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.39.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced 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 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on DHR. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.24.

Danaher 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.