Riverbridge Partners LLC Reduces Stake in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Riverbridge Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 222,825 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 17,781 shares during the quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $42,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $2,177,106,000. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its holdings in Danaher by 543.9% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $574,351,000 after acquiring an additional 2,455,994 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Danaher by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,333,056 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $991,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216,789 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its position in Danaher by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,319,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,020 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Danaher by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,076,796 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,451,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,904 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DZ Bank initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price objective on Danaher from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.61.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $179.43 on Wednesday. Danaher Corporation has a 12 month low of $160.93 and a 12 month high of $242.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.23.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 10.91%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.95%.

About Danaher

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.