Insider Selling: Danaher (NYSE:DHR) EVP Sells $274,573.20 in Stock

Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) EVP Gregory Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Danaher Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:DHR opened at $209.56 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $148.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $226.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Danaher Corporation has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Danaher from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Danaher

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambient Family Office LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,011,000. McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $495,000. Wick Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $761,000. Compound Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 47.1% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 9,554 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,060 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Danaher by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,120,223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $943,201,000 after purchasing an additional 307,095 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.