Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Sold by Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS

Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS reduced its stake in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 32.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,958 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DHR. Eads & Heald Wealth Management raised its stake in Danaher by 2.0% during the third quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 6,438 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the third quarter worth about $61,000. XML Financial LLC grew its position in Danaher by 459.9% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 6,758 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,497,000 after acquiring an additional 5,551 shares in the last quarter. Trek Financial LLC increased its stake in Danaher by 23.9% during the third quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 12,701 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,814,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbia Bank bought a new stake in Danaher during the third quarter worth approximately $233,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Danaher from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Danaher from $246.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, July 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Danaher from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Christopher Bouda sold 7,598 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total transaction of $1,782,186.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,136,137.92. This trade represents a 45.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $228.04 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $219.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.73. Danaher Corporation has a 52 week low of $160.93 and a 52 week high of $242.80. The company has a market capitalization of $160.44 billion, a PE ratio of 37.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.19%.

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.