Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Stake Lowered by Zevin Asset Management LLC

Zevin Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 57,709 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 768 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for 2.5% of Zevin Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Zevin Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $16,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DHR. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Danaher by 1.8% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in Danaher by 3.2% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,231 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Danaher by 3.4% in the second quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,230 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of Kansas boosted its holdings in Danaher by 4.1% in the second quarter. Trust Co of Kansas now owns 1,022 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Danaher by 0.7% in the second quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 5,439 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Down 3.7 %

Danaher stock opened at $230.50 on Monday. Danaher Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.30 and a fifty-two week high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $166.48 billion, a PE ratio of 43.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $262.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.59 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 10.62%. Danaher’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. Research analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $333.00 to $311.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.16.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other news, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.37, for a total value of $255,488.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,130,374.44. This trade represents a 18.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Danaher Company 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.