Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by DF Dent & Co. Inc.

DF Dent & Co. Inc. lessened its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 583,543 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,705 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up 1.7% of DF Dent & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. DF Dent & Co. Inc. owned about 0.08% of Danaher worth $133,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 21,233 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,874,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 1,212.8% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 2,559 shares in the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,044,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 847,348 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $235,583,000 after buying an additional 11,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Danaher by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 237,922 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $54,615,000 after acquiring an additional 10,994 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE DHR opened at $205.23 on Thursday. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $196.34 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.87, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $212.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.18. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change 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 is presently 24.24%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on DHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.24.

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.