Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $9.39 Million Stake in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 23.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,503 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,447 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Danaher were worth $9,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in Danaher by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 366,481 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $83,895,000 after purchasing an additional 74,301 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 303.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 248,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,777,000 after purchasing an additional 186,584 shares in the last quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $4,477,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,495,287 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,029,061,000 after purchasing an additional 43,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 220.2% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 674,373 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $154,377,000 after buying an additional 463,764 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.91.

Danaher Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $196.55 on Thursday. Danaher Corporation has a 52-week low of $160.93 and a 52-week high of $242.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $187.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.95. The company has a market capitalization of $138.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.79.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 15.95% and a return on equity of 11.04%. Danaher’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 28.42%.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher’s portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.