Jefferies Financial Group Has Lowered Expectations for Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Stock Price

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) had its price target dropped by Jefferies Financial Group from $265.00 to $240.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the conglomerate’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 22.07% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on DHR. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners upped 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $251.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.35.

Danaher Price Performance

NYSE DHR traded up $5.61 on Wednesday, reaching $196.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 163,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,015,473. The firm has a market cap of $139.14 billion, a PE ratio of 38.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $202.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.59. Danaher has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $242.80. 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 (NYSE:DHR) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.84 billion for 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Danaher will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,099 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Danaher

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 6.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,009 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 34.5% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 55,418 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,947,000 after purchasing an additional 14,217 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 3.9% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 18,931 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,740,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the second quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 8.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 134,629 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,595,000 after purchasing an additional 10,126 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.