State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Boosts Stock Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 225,917 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 7,606 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Danaher were worth $44,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DHR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Danaher during the 2nd quarter worth $1,979,503,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in Danaher by 543.9% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $574,351,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455,994 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP grew its stake in Danaher by 56.2% in the second quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,965,646 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $980,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787,522 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in Danaher by 924.2% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,239,320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $244,815,000 after buying an additional 1,118,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Danaher by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,769,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,004,424,000 after buying an additional 788,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DHR. Barclays boosted their price target on Danaher from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Argus set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.86.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DHR opened at $212.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $228.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.14, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Danaher Corporation has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, Director Teri List sold 3,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.50, for a total transaction of $746,997.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,702,593. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Profile

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.