Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Purchased by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments raised its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,061 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,756 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Danaher were worth $7,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in Danaher by 3.0% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,365 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Danaher Stock Performance

Danaher stock opened at $205.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.69 billion, a PE ratio of 38.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $196.80 and a one year high of $281.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $221.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $241.48. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

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.