Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 3,094 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 618,995 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,094 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises 1.7% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $141,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $462,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 366,481 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $83,895,000 after purchasing an additional 74,301 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 664,705 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $131,784,000 after purchasing an additional 18,744 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 223,570 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,597,000 after purchasing an additional 26,896 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 896.1% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 5,598 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,036 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $182.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.48. The firm has a market cap of $129.33 billion, a PE ratio of 35.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.81. Danaher Corporation has a twelve month low of $160.93 and a twelve month high of $242.80.

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

Danaher Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DHR shares. Wall Street Zen cut Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Danaher from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Danaher from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.