Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Acquired by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC raised its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 319,502 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,695 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $73,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in Danaher by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Danaher by 4.1% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 4,304 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR stock opened at $181.42 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.66 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $165.17 and a one year high of $281.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $209.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.73.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on DHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim began coverage on Danaher in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.24.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services that advance, accelerate, and integrate the development and manufacture of therapeutics; cell line and cell culture media development services; cell culture media, process liquids and buffers for manufacturing, chromatography resins, filtration technologies, aseptic fill finish; single-use hardware and consumables and services, such as the design and installation of full manufacturing suites; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes, and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.