Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $268.27.

DHR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Danaher from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on Danaher from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Teri List sold 3,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.32, for a total value of $816,724.48. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,898,360.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Danaher news, SVP Daniel Raskas sold 23,757 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total value of $5,986,764.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,601,704. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Teri List sold 3,289 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.32, for a total transaction of $816,724.48. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,726 shares in the company, valued at $4,898,360.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,957 shares of company stock worth $8,265,802. 10.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Danaher

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 4.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in Danaher by 14.9% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,202 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth about $249,000. Finally, Essex LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $236.08 on Tuesday. Danaher has a twelve month low of $182.09 and a twelve month high of $259.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $248.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Danaher will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.90%.

About Danaher

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.