Fisher Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,369,219 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,583 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $866,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in Danaher in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Danaher during the second quarter worth $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total transaction of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $210.28 on Monday. Danaher Corporation has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $242.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $148.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.72, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $225.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.28.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. Danaher’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on DHR. Robert W. Baird set a $251.00 target price on Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus set a $265.00 target price on Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.86.

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.