Cowa LLC Has $595,000 Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Cowa LLC reduced its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,592 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Cowa LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DHR. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,923,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 45,631 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,686,000 after buying an additional 2,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Danaher by 40,196.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 429,964 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $119,539,000 after buying an additional 428,897 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Danaher Stock Performance

NYSE:DHR opened at $209.86 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $226.71 and a 200-day moving average of $247.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.83. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $196.80 and a twelve month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 last year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective (down previously from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.00.

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.