Danaher Corporation $DHR Holdings Cut by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 887,732 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 95,655 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.13% of Danaher worth $176,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on DHR shares. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $254.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $191.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $217.91 and its 200-day moving average is $215.38. Danaher Corporation has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $242.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.93.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $274,573.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

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.