Stokes Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 716 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,249 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 716 shares during the period. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $3,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrive Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Danaher by 4.9% during the first quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,070 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Danaher by 1.2% during the first quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 77,071 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $19,246,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Danaher by 3.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 194,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $48,574,000 after purchasing an additional 7,076 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Danaher by 14.0% during the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 8,789 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC raised its position in shares of Danaher by 0.4% during the first quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 65,674 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $16,400,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $252.39. 769,186 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,818,771. The stock has a market cap of $186.94 billion, a PE ratio of 42.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $255.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.19. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $182.09 and a 12 month high of $269.11.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.62 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 16.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.36 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC raised Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $250.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays increased their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Danaher from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Danaher from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Alan G. Spoon sold 708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total transaction of $172,454.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 116,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,304,483.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Rainer Blair sold 47,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.22, for a total transaction of $11,756,953.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,908,273.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Alan G. Spoon sold 708 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total value of $172,454.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 116,202 shares in the company, valued at $28,304,483.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,783 shares of company stock worth $37,536,717. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Danaher Company 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.