Railway Pension Investments Ltd Boosts Stake in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 148.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 689,899 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 412,200 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises 1.9% of Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Railway Pension Investments Ltd owned approximately 0.10% of Danaher worth $136,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DHR. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,493 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,331,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Danaher by 5.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 66,750 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $13,684,000 after acquiring an additional 3,216 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its position in Danaher by 37.9% during the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 212,766 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $43,617,000 after purchasing an additional 58,485 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $589,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 170,505 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,954,000 after purchasing an additional 2,667 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock opened at $230.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $162.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $223.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.30. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $258.23.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 14.44%.Danaher’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DHR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Danaher from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $230.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.29.

Insider Activity at Danaher

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

About Danaher

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.