Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Danaher (NYSE:DHR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on DHR. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Danaher from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Danaher from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $212.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.41.

Danaher Trading Up 0.2%

Danaher stock opened at $224.78 on Friday. Danaher has a 52 week low of $160.93 and a 52 week high of $242.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.93, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.54.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.09. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 15.95%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Danaher will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.42%.

Institutional Trading of Danaher

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,039,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Veery Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 1,581 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 3.3% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 1,581 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. JDH Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4.5% in the first quarter. JDH Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its position in Danaher by 0.5% during the first quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 12,114 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that develops products, services and solutions for the life sciences, biotechnology and diagnostics markets. Its offerings help researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, healthcare providers and other organizations conduct scientific research, develop and manufacture medicines, and diagnose disease.

The company operates through businesses that provide bioprocessing equipment and technologies, laboratory instruments, consumables, analytical tools and clinical diagnostic systems.