California Public Employees Retirement System Raises Stake in Danaher Corporation $DHR

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,771,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 404,719 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Danaher were worth $351,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Danaher by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 3,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Chiron Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Chiron Capital Management LLC now owns 4,303 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 543.7% in the 3rd quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 7,988 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 6,747 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 144,255 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argyle Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Argyle Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $251.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $187.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $132.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.17, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $218.79 and a 200 day moving average of $215.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Danaher Corporation has a 1-year low of $171.00 and a 1-year high of $242.80.

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

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Danaher’s payout ratio is 25.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.10% 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.