Danaher Corporation $DHR Stock Acquired by Howard Capital Management LLC

Howard Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 197.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,641 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,397 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $2,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,492,520,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,456,317,000. Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new position in Danaher during the second quarter worth $1,287,949,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Danaher during the second quarter worth $993,846,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Danaher during the second quarter worth $801,056,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $212.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Danaher from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.41.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE DHR opened at $228.87 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $214.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.97. Danaher Corporation has a 12-month low of $160.93 and a 12-month high of $242.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $160.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.65, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 28.42%.

Danaher Company Profile

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that develops products, services and solutions for the life sciences, biotechnology and diagnostics markets. Its offerings help researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, healthcare providers and other organizations conduct scientific research, develop and manufacture medicines, and diagnose disease.

The company operates through businesses that provide bioprocessing equipment and technologies, laboratory instruments, consumables, analytical tools and clinical diagnostic systems.