National Pension Service Increases Stake in Danaher Corporation $DHR

National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,453,086 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 6,725 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.21% of Danaher worth $332,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $180.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $182.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.65. Danaher Corporation has a twelve month low of $160.93 and a twelve month high of $242.80. The company has a market capitalization of $127.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Danaher had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 10.91%. The firm had revenue of $5.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Danaher Corporation will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Argus cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $205.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Friday, April 17th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.24.

About Danaher

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.