Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 8,908 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $40,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Danaher Trading Down 3.2%

DHR stock opened at $195.60 on Friday. Danaher Corporation has a twelve month low of $171.00 and a twelve month high of $242.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.95.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released 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 firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.71% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be given 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 presently 25.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on DHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $251.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Argus set a $265.00 price objective on Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.