Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,052,626 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,887 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $207,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DHR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Danaher in the second quarter valued at about $1,979,503,000. Viking Global Investors LP raised its stake in Danaher by 543.9% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $574,351,000 after buying an additional 2,455,994 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in Danaher by 56.2% during the 2nd quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,965,646 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $980,914,000 after buying an additional 1,787,522 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in shares of Danaher by 924.2% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,239,320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $244,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Danaher by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,769,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $12,004,424,000 after acquiring an additional 788,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Danaher Trading Down 3.2%

NYSE:DHR opened at $195.60 on Monday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Danaher Corporation has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $242.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on DHR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price 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. Robert W. Baird set a $251.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.