IMS Capital Management Sells 155 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

IMS Capital Management lessened its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,779 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Danaher makes up about 1.1% of IMS Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in Danaher were worth $2,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DHR. York GP Ltd. acquired a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,591,000. SFE Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 17,227 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,954,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,017 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its position in Danaher by 93.8% during the 4th quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 53,719 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $12,331,000 after purchasing an additional 26,001 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

DHR stock opened at $203.56 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a 1 year low of $196.80 and a 1 year high of $281.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $230.49 and its 200-day moving average is $250.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Danaher’s payout ratio is 20.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DHR. Bank of America upgraded shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $277.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.00.

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 dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

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.