Danaher Corporation $DHR Position Increased by HM Payson & Co.

HM Payson & Co. grew its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 168,704 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 18,447 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $33,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the second quarter worth $27,000. Red Tortoise LLC grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 175.0% during the second quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 154 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE DHR opened at $230.52 on Monday. Danaher Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $171.00 and a fifty-two week high of $258.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $222.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.22. The firm has a market cap of $162.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 14.44%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DHR has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Danaher in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Danaher from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Rothschild Redb downgraded Danaher from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 21,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.23, for a total transaction of $4,773,952.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,190,454.19. The trade was a 59.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 5,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.42, for a total value of $1,088,713.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,352.50. This represents a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,248 shares of company stock worth $6,609,663 in the last quarter. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.