20,669 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR Acquired by Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 20,669 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $4,579,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the third quarter valued at about $1,305,000. American National Bank & Trust boosted its position in Danaher by 229.2% during the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 8,835 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 6,151 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA grew its stake in Danaher by 129.9% in the third quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 708 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in Danaher in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,582,000. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of Danaher by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 7,993 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR stock traded up $2.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $218.33. 1,605,398 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,447,346. Danaher Corporation has a one year low of $160.93 and a one year high of $242.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $210.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 15.95% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Danaher from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Danaher from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Danaher from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Danaher from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.23.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that develops and manufactures products, services and solutions for the life sciences, diagnostics and biotechnology industries. Its offerings help researchers, healthcare professionals and biopharmaceutical manufacturers discover, develop, produce and analyze medicines and other biological products.

The company operates through businesses that provide laboratory instruments, consumables, software and services, including technologies for cell analysis, genomics, protein research, bioprocessing and clinical diagnostics.