Jacobi Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,166 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $2,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $207.73 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $224.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.09. The company has a market capitalization of $148.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.40. Danaher Co. has a fifty-two week low of $196.80 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. Research analysts predict that Danaher Co. 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 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 price objective on Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on Danaher in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Seven investment 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.