Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Stock Position Lowered by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lessened its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 24.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,037 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,328 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $928,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $212.35 on Monday. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $196.80 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $242.62. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $151.77 billion, a PE ratio of 40.22, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted 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 net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on DHR. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 target price (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

About Danaher

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.