Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership reduced its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,043,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 514,941 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 0.28% of Danaher worth $469,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its position in Danaher by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $210.15 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $150.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $215.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $237.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 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.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’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 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. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on DHR shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a 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 for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.24.

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.