Rakuten Securities Inc. Increases Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 380.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 168 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $39,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

Danaher stock opened at $205.24 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $146.69 billion, a PE ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $221.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $196.80 and a 12 month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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. Research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on DHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 price target (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.