Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Short Interest Update

Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,170,000 shares, a growth of 31.4% from the February 13th total of 6,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $211.09 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $150.87 billion, a PE ratio of 39.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. Danaher has a 52 week low of $196.80 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $220.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.45. 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 issued 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 return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Danaher will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on DHR. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 target price (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Danaher

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its position in Danaher by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.