Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Stock Holdings Cut by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. cut its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,400 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 656 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $3,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $205.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $196.34 and a 52-week high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $212.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.18.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’s 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. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DHR shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays dropped 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.