Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Holdings Trimmed by Headinvest LLC

Headinvest LLC trimmed its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,893 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 894 shares during the quarter. Danaher accounts for 1.5% of Headinvest LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Headinvest LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $8,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 11.6% during 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 buying an additional 2,202 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its position in Danaher by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 9,597 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639 shares during the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $8,044,000. Compass Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 237,922 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $54,615,000 after buying an additional 10,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channing Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Danaher by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Channing Global Advisors LLC now owns 5,666 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,301,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $186.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.47 billion, a PE ratio of 35.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $196.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.57.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 24.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on DHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,105,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

About Danaher

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.