Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 92.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,574 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 88,494 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Danaher in the third quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:DHR opened at $195.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $242.80. The company has a market cap of $138.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.81, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $222.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.99.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.14 EPS. Danaher’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,642.99. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DHR. HSBC raised their price target on Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.86.

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.