FineMark National Bank & Trust Sells 2,471 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

FineMark National Bank & Trust lessened its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,010 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,471 shares during the quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Danaher were worth $17,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of DHR stock opened at $212.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $152.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.33, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.13.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.24.

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.