Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Acquired by Zevin Asset Management LLC

Zevin Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,435 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,726 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises about 2.1% of Zevin Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Zevin Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $14,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DHR. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Danaher by 3.4% in the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Danaher by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Danaher by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Danaher by 3.0% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its stake in Danaher by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR stock opened at $211.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $196.80 and a 12 month high of $281.70. The firm has a market cap of $150.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $220.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.76.

Danaher 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.