Swiss National Bank Trims Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,766,008 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 90,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.25% of Danaher worth $404,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Danaher by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 22,658 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,187,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,331 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,220,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Investment Research Partners LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 1,886 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $680,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. increased its stake in Danaher by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 256,278 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $58,749,000 after buying an additional 3,164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $180.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $127.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Danaher Corporation has a 12 month low of $160.93 and a 12 month high of $242.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $181.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.96.

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

Danaher Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on DHR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus cut their price target on Danaher from $265.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup began coverage on Danaher in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. DZ Bank began coverage on Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Danaher from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.61.

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.