Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) Receives $253.86 Average Price Target from Analysts

Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $253.8571.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $203.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $144.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.47, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $224.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.20. Danaher has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $242.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Danaher will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. Danaher’s payout ratio is 25.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DHR. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Danaher during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Danaher during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Danaher in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Company Profile

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher’s portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.