Destination Wealth Management Buys 4,008 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Destination Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 163,363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,008 shares during the period. Danaher accounts for about 1.2% of Destination Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Destination Wealth Management’s holdings in Danaher were worth $37,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in Danaher by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 21,233 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,874,000 after acquiring an additional 2,202 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 1,212.8% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 2,559 shares during the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,044,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 847,348 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $235,583,000 after buying an additional 11,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 237,922 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $54,615,000 after acquiring an additional 10,994 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of DHR opened at $214.76 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $222.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $243.43. The stock has a market cap of $153.49 billion, a PE ratio of 40.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $196.80 and a twelve month high of $281.70. 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 (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on DHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 price target on Danaher in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.00.

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.