Davis R M Inc. Sells 4,800 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Davis R M Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 316,709 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,800 shares during the period. Danaher makes up 1.1% of Davis R M Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $62,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DHR. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 6.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,009 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Danaher by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 47,464 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,376,000 after buying an additional 5,843 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 26,616 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,258,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,273 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $647,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 39.9% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 18,224 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,587,000 after acquiring an additional 5,194 shares during the period. 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 the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

DHR opened at $210.28 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.28. 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 has a market cap of $148.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.72, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.93. Danaher Corporation has a 1-year low of $171.00 and a 1-year 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for 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%. Danaher’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.14 EPS. Equities analysts forecast 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. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on DHR. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.