Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 6.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 624,121 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 43,505 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $123,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in Danaher in the third quarter valued at $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $195.60 on Monday. Danaher Corporation has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $242.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $222.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.99.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.86.

Danaher Company Profile

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.