Akre Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Akre Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 50.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 874,831 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 900,569 shares during the quarter. Danaher accounts for about 1.7% of Akre Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Akre Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Danaher worth $173,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In related news, EVP Gregory M. 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 transaction of $274,573.20. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DHR. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.86.

Danaher Stock Down 4.4%

Danaher stock opened at $186.39 on Friday. Danaher Corporation has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $242.80. The stock has a market cap of $131.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.98, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $219.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.40%.

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.