V Square Quantitative Management LLC Purchases 1,188 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises approximately 0.5% of V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $3,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $343,000. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $2,102,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Danaher by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 172,231 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $39,536,000 after buying an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 37,548 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,619,000 after buying an additional 3,783 shares during the period. Finally, York GP Ltd. purchased a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $4,591,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on DHR shares. StockNews.com lowered Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 target price (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim started coverage on Danaher in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.00.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR opened at $203.56 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $196.80 and a 12-month high of $281.70. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $230.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.28. The company has a market capitalization of $147.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.55, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

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

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.