Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Boosts Stock Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 527,158 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,142 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises approximately 1.5% of Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT owned about 0.07% of Danaher worth $104,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,979,503,000. Viking Global Investors LP raised its holdings in Danaher by 543.9% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $574,351,000 after acquiring an additional 2,455,994 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 56.2% in the second quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,965,646 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $980,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787,522 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 924.2% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,239,320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $244,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118,318 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Danaher by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,769,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $12,004,424,000 after purchasing an additional 788,499 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Danaher from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR opened at $209.16 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $226.18 and a 200 day moving average of $216.18. The stock has a market cap of $147.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.50, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.91. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.