Banque Pictet & Cie SA Purchases 79,407 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 131.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 140,037 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,407 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in Danaher were worth $32,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Danaher during the third quarter worth about $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the company’s 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 directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Danaher Stock Performance

Danaher stock opened at $190.88 on Thursday. Danaher Corporation has a 1-year low of $171.00 and a 1-year high of $242.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.08 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $206.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.45.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DHR. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

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.