AIA Group Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

AIA Group Ltd decreased its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 170,070 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,929 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises 0.9% of AIA Group Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Danaher were worth $39,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Danaher Stock Down 2.1 %

DHR opened at $205.69 on Monday. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $196.80 and a 1-year high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $214.57 and a 200-day moving average of $236.39. 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 (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors 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 is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.