Danaher (NYSE:DHR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Danaher (NYSE:DHR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on DHR. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Danaher from $212.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Danaher from $246.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.91.

Danaher Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of DHR stock opened at $233.72 on Monday. Danaher has a fifty-two week low of $160.93 and a fifty-two week high of $242.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $201.81. The company has a market cap of $164.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.25, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.76.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 16.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Danaher will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 26.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Danaher

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Danaher during the second quarter valued at about $10,492,520,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Danaher by 10.4% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,316,834 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,108,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,310 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the second quarter worth about $1,456,317,000. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the second quarter worth about $1,287,949,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the second quarter valued at approximately $993,846,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that develops products, services and solutions for the life sciences, biotechnology and diagnostics markets. Its offerings help researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, healthcare providers and other organizations conduct scientific research, develop and manufacture medicines, and diagnose disease.

The company operates through businesses that provide bioprocessing equipment and technologies, laboratory instruments, consumables, analytical tools and clinical diagnostic systems.