NBT Bank N A NY Reduces Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

NBT Bank N A NY reduced its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 45,776 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,321 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY’s holdings in Danaher were worth $10,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Danaher by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,739 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $3,066,000. Permanent Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $382,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 10,876 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Danaher by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 9,633 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $212.35 on Monday. 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 52 week low of $196.80 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.00.

Insider Activity 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 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 represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.