First American Bank Purchases 163 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

First American Bank raised its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 72,567 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 163 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises about 1.2% of First American Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. First American Bank’s holdings in Danaher were worth $16,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd boosted its position in Danaher by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 1,290 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. increased its position in Danaher by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 4,207 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 43.4% in the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 1,186 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Peloton Wealth Strategists increased its position in shares of Danaher by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 5,696 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,308,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $292,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of DHR stock opened at $205.69 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $196.80 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $225.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.50. 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 has a market capitalization of $147.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.96, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 target price on Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 price objective (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.00.

Danaher 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.