Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Has $3.20 Million Holdings in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 39.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,135 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,545 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Danaher were worth $3,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the second quarter worth $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the second quarter valued at $27,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Danaher in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:DHR opened at $195.32 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $221.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.83. 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 company has a market capitalization of $138.12 billion, a PE ratio of 38.75, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.93. Danaher Corporation has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DHR. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $251.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Argus set a $265.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.