Allianz SE Lowers Holdings in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Allianz SE reduced its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,125 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,830 shares during the period. Allianz SE’s holdings in Danaher were worth $6,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DHR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,769,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,004,424,000 after purchasing an additional 788,499 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,726,194 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,697,800,000 after buying an additional 81,670 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter worth $1,979,503,000. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Danaher by 34.0% in the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,319,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Danaher by 4.0% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,822,442 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $952,625,000 after acquiring an additional 186,357 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:DHR opened at $210.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $148.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.91. Danaher Corporation has a one year low of $171.00 and a one year high of $242.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.87. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $225.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.16.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. Danaher’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DHR has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC raised their price objective on Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. Twenty 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.86.

About Danaher

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.