Leavell Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Leavell Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,117 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,100 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,979,503,000. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 543.9% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $574,351,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455,994 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 56.2% in the second quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,965,646 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $980,914,000 after buying an additional 1,787,522 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 924.2% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,239,320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $244,815,000 after buying an additional 1,118,318 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,769,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,004,424,000 after buying an additional 788,499 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DHR shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (down previously from $245.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.83.

Danaher Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $236.05 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $228.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.99. Danaher Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $171.00 and a fifty-two week high of $258.23. The firm has a market cap of $166.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The company 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%.The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 21,776 shares of Danaher 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,190,454.19. The trade was a 59.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Teri List sold 3,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.50, for a total transaction of $746,997.00. Following the sale, the director owned 20,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,702,593. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,248 shares of company stock valued at $6,609,663. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher 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.