US Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

US Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,017 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. Danaher makes up 1.0% of US Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. US Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 29,855 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,853,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Danaher by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Danaher by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 184,484 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,349,000 after acquiring an additional 3,161 shares during the period. Finally, True North Advisors LLC grew its position in Danaher by 70.8% in the fourth quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,005,442. This represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $187.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $134.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $171.00 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.16.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DHR shares. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.24.

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.