Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 624,121 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 43,505 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.09% of Danaher worth $123,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. White Pine Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 3,494 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. SOL Capital Management CO boosted its holdings in Danaher by 2.8% during the third quarter. SOL Capital Management CO now owns 1,829 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Danaher by 3.9% during the third quarter. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in Danaher by 0.7% during the third quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 7,439 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,475,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Danaher by 4.8% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,159 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $195.60 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $138.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.87. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $242.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $222.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.99.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. Danaher’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC raised their price objective on Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.86.

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.