M&T Bank Corp Decreases Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 495,675 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 7,822 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned 0.07% of Danaher worth $113,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its position in Danaher by 3.4% during the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in shares of Danaher by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 3.0% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its position in Danaher by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR opened at $205.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $147.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. 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 simple moving average is $223.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $243.86. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $196.80 and a 1-year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.00.

About Danaher

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.