Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Acquired by Optas LLC

Optas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,550 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DHR. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in Danaher by 30.3% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 21,743 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,394,000 after buying an additional 5,060 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at $281,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 16.2% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,833 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the third quarter valued at $1,489,000. Finally, Dempze Nancy E boosted its position in Danaher by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dempze Nancy E now owns 15,794 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,918,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In other news, CEO Rainer Blair sold 9,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.00, for a total transaction of $2,386,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,352,350. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Matthew Mcgrew sold 46,377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.05, for a total transaction of $11,735,699.85. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,441,441.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Rainer Blair sold 9,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.00, for a total transaction of $2,386,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,352,350. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,783 shares of company stock worth $37,536,717 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DHR traded down $1.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $249.85. 4,638,276 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,371,169. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $182.09 and a 12 month high of $269.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.06 billion, a PE ratio of 42.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $255.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $246.75.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.20. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.36 EPS. Danaher’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DHR. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Danaher from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC raised shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $250.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.29.

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.