Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Stock Holdings Boosted by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $209.27 on Thursday. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $196.80 and a one year high of $281.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $225.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.78. 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 market cap of $149.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.63, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted 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 period last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DHR. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Danaher from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.