Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Lowers Holdings in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 80,009 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 9,170 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $18,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DHR. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 543.9% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $574,351,000 after buying an additional 2,455,994 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of Danaher by 34.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Danaher by 211.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,088,089 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $414,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418,243 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Danaher by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,519,013 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $697,680,000 after acquiring an additional 891,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Danaher by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,813,128 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $755,991,000 after acquiring an additional 729,597 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $181.65 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Danaher Corporation has a one year low of $171.00 and a one year high of $242.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $209.30 and a 200 day moving average of $214.70.

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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion for 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%.Danaher’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. Danaher’s payout ratio is 31.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $254.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

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.