Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Position Increased by Freestone Capital Holdings LLC

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 38.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,132 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 1st quarter valued at about $250,000. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 1st quarter valued at about $348,000. LGT Group Foundation increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 95.6% in the 1st quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 78,603 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $19,629,000 after purchasing an additional 38,421 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 1st quarter valued at about $250,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 1st quarter valued at about $162,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR traded up $4.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $274.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,678,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,914,118. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $182.09 and a one year high of $277.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.33 billion, a PE ratio of 45.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $254.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.15. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. Danaher’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 18.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Matthew Mcgrew sold 46,377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.05, for a total value of $11,735,699.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,441,441.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Alan G. Spoon sold 708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total value of $172,454.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 116,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,304,483.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Mcgrew sold 46,377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.05, for a total value of $11,735,699.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,441,441.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 75,175 shares of company stock valued at $19,161,154. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC upgraded Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Danaher in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Danaher from $266.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, SVB Leerink increased their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.88.

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.