Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Bought by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,292,583 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 138,852 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.18% of Danaher worth $295,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,009 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the second quarter valued at $333,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the second quarter valued at about $51,000. CW Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 3.5% in the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 28,492 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,629,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha Family Trust increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 150.0% during the second quarter. Alpha Family Trust now owns 3,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 0.2%

DHR opened at $191.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.29. Danaher Corporation has a 1-year low of $171.00 and a 1-year high of $242.80. 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 (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Danaher from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Danaher presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

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.