Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 102,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,287 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $23,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $205.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $222.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $242.18. The stock has a market cap of $146.53 billion, a PE ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $196.80 and a 1 year high of $281.70. 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 (NYSE:DHR) last released 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 business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on DHR. Barclays reduced their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 price objective on Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 price target (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.