Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Sold by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC lowered its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 19.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 279,470 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 67,896 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $55,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $195.60 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $222.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.32 billion, a PE ratio of 38.81, a P/E/G 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. Danaher Corporation has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.The company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $254.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.