TCW Group Inc. Has $7.25 Million Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

TCW Group Inc. grew its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 31,595 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,167 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $7,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE DHR opened at $209.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $226.71 and its 200-day moving average is $246.84. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $196.80 and a one year high of $281.70. The firm has a market cap of $151.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.