Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Stock Holdings Lessened by Westover Capital Advisors LLC

Westover Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 37.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the third quarter valued at $207,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the third quarter worth $202,000. Kanawha Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at $217,000. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Danaher by 1.9% during the third quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,621,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:DHR opened at $205.92 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $223.61 and its 200-day moving average is $243.86. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $196.80 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The firm has a market cap of $147.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Danaher 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.