Argent Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Argent Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 387,550 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 7,292 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises approximately 3.0% of Argent Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Argent Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Danaher worth $107,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tsfg LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 733.3% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 100 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Danaher during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Danaher in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR traded down $2.87 during trading on Thursday, hitting $253.13. 890,210 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,725,673. The company has a market cap of $187.49 billion, a PE ratio of 43.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.83. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $182.09 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $270.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.43.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 16.94%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.31%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, CEO Rainer Blair sold 9,007 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $2,521,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 97,983 shares in the company, valued at $27,435,240. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Matthew Mcgrew sold 16,172 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.84, for a total transaction of $4,525,572.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,229,254.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rainer Blair sold 9,007 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $2,521,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 97,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,435,240. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,059 shares of company stock valued at $8,400,897. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DHR. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.28.

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.