Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,940 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new position in Danaher in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, EVP Joakim Weidemanis sold 22,439 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.42, for a total transaction of $5,910,881.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,362,456.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Danaher news, EVP Joakim Weidemanis sold 22,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.42, for a total transaction of $5,910,881.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,362,456.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Daniel Raskas sold 11,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.65, for a total transaction of $2,922,668.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,979,767.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,922 shares of company stock worth $12,552,233 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of DHR stock opened at $253.48 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $221.22 and a twelve month high of $291.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $252.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The conglomerate reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.04. Danaher had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 20.95%. The company had revenue of $7.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 8.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 12.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $292.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.79.

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; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.