Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 4,897 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,779 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,897 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Danaher were worth $12,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 3.2% during the third quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC now owns 238,092 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $66,194,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth about $217,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter worth about $363,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 202,263 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $56,233,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Danaher by 75.4% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,360 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 1,874 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR stock opened at $230.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $166.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $206.30 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $262.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.38.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 16.39%. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 952 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.37, for a total transaction of $255,488.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,130,374.44. The trade was a 18.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Danaher from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.16.

Danaher Company Profile

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.