Generation Investment Management LLP Has $1.32 Billion Stock Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Generation Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,654,666 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,689,020 shares during the period. Danaher makes up approximately 8.7% of Generation Investment Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Generation Investment Management LLP owned approximately 0.94% of Danaher worth $1,319,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Danaher by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,769,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,004,424,000 after buying an additional 788,499 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 0.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,726,194 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,697,800,000 after acquiring an additional 81,670 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Danaher during the second quarter valued at $1,979,503,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Danaher by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,822,442 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $952,625,000 after purchasing an additional 186,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Danaher by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,337,038 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $856,738,000 after purchasing an additional 106,951 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.86.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Danaher Stock Up 0.7%

DHR opened at $210.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $226.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.12. Danaher Corporation has a twelve month low of $171.00 and a twelve month high of $242.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

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.