Employees Retirement System of Texas Acquires 27,216 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 9.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 317,738 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,216 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Danaher were worth $62,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Danaher by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Danaher by 50.6% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 19,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,847,000 after purchasing an additional 6,519 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Danaher by 5.2% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,728,070 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,607,000 after purchasing an additional 85,460 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 5.2% in the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 262,420 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $52,027,000 after purchasing an additional 13,043 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of DHR opened at $186.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Danaher Corporation has a 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $242.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $219.65 and its 200-day moving average is $215.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.81 billion, a PE ratio of 36.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $251.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Twenty 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,642.99. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Danaher 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.