Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 10.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,950 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $7,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. White Pine Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 3,494 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH raised its stake in Danaher by 2.1% during the second quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 2,524 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Danaher by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,159 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 467 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR opened at $230.74 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $223.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.40. Danaher Corporation has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $258.23. The firm has a market cap of $162.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.58, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 14.44%.Danaher’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 26.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on DHR shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Danaher from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (down previously from $245.00) on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $241.00 price objective on Danaher in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 21,776 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.23, for a total value of $4,773,952.48. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,190,454.19. This trade represents a 59.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 5,174 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.42, for a total value of $1,088,713.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,352.50. This trade represents a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 30,248 shares of company stock valued at $6,609,663 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Company Profile

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher’s portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.