E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Increases Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,260 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares during the quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Danaher were worth $6,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the third quarter worth about $39,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Danaher in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock opened at $214.09 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $154.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.55, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $235.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.09. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $214.03 and a 12-month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.00.

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.