Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,470 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 46 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other 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 transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $222.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $160.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.15, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Danaher Co. has a 52-week low of $221.34 and a 52-week high of $281.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $235.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.24.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. Research analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DHR shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Danaher from $309.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Danaher from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Danaher from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.