Oak Thistle LLC Takes Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,123 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $2,088,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Danaher by 1.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,758,240 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,318,926,000 after buying an additional 312,951 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of Danaher by 34.0% in the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,319,354,000 after buying an additional 1,689,020 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Danaher by 5.0% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,452,118 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $882,677,000 after buying an additional 211,053 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 0.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,369,219 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $866,241,000 after purchasing an additional 28,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Danaher by 23.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,813,128 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $755,991,000 after purchasing an additional 729,597 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:DHR opened at $191.03 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $202.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.59. The stock has a market cap of $135.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.90, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. Danaher Corporation has a 52-week low of $171.00 and a 52-week high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on DHR shares. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Danaher from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.79.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Danaher Company Profile

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher’s portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.