Sandy Spring Bank Lowers Stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Sandy Spring Bank lessened its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,277 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,804 shares during the period. Danaher makes up 0.7% of Sandy Spring Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Danaher were worth $17,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Danaher

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

Danaher Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $209.90 on Thursday. 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 50 day simple moving average is $218.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.75, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $196.80 and a twelve month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share 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 given a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.76.

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.