Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Increases Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,480 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,754 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $4,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Down 1.6 %

DHR opened at $203.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.61. Danaher Co. has a 52 week low of $203.00 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The company has a market capitalization of $146.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s payout ratio is 20.45%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 trade 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 this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DHR shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Danaher from $309.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.