Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Bank of Hawaii

Bank of Hawaii decreased its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 65.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,010 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 9,338 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $2,130,740,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth approximately $391,172,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Danaher by 6,862.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 929,868 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $213,452,000 after buying an additional 916,513 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,105,388 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $712,842,000 after acquiring an additional 749,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 29,287.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 588,929 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $135,189,000 after purchasing an additional 586,925 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Up 10.0 %

NYSE:DHR opened at $192.18 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.86. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $171.00 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $204.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.11.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Danaher Co. 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 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DHR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 price target (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.24.

About Danaher

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.