Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Position Lessened by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. lowered its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,026 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,014 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $28,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Danaher by 4.1% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,399 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 303,043 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $84,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Danaher by 17.1% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,750 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the third quarter worth $3,757,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 10.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Danaher Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of DHR stock opened at $209.90 on Thursday. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $196.80 and a one year high of $281.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $218.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.46. The stock has a market cap of $150.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS 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 in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on DHR shares. Bank of America raised Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 target price on Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com cut Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.76.

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.