Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 8,091 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $3,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ballast Advisors LLC raised its stake in Danaher by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 5,232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.5% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 62,288 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $12,349,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Lathrop Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Danaher by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lathrop Investment Management Co. now owns 25,083 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,973,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,369,219 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $866,241,000 after buying an additional 28,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in Danaher by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 4,177 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $828,000 after buying an additional 1,550 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Danaher in a report on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Twenty 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, Danaher has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.86.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of DHR opened at $204.74 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $144.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.93. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $171.00 and a 1 year high of $242.80. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $216.12.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted 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 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%. Danaher’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. As a group, equities 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. Stockholders 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 represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.