DNB Asset Management AS Acquires 25,273 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

DNB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 222,630 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 25,273 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Danaher were worth $59,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Danaher by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,176 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank raised its stake in Danaher by 31.9% in the third quarter. American National Bank now owns 157 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Danaher by 9.7% in the third quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 428 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Rosenbaum Jay D. raised its stake in Danaher by 1.1% in the second quarter. Rosenbaum Jay D. now owns 3,564 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Cove Advisors LLC grew its position in Danaher by 0.7% in the third quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, Director Raymond C. Stevens sold 8,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.27, for a total transaction of $2,222,510.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,282.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on DHR. Cowen decreased their target price on Danaher from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Danaher in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $310.00 target price on the stock. Credit Suisse Group cut Danaher from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $315.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on Danaher from $277.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.29.

Danaher Trading Down 2.6 %

DHR traded down $6.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $242.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,467,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,354,815. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $233.71 and a twelve month high of $303.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $258.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $262.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The conglomerate reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.41. Danaher had a return on equity of 17.97% and a net margin of 22.91%. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 30th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.36%.

About Danaher

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Danaher Corp. engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. It operates through the following segments: Biotechnology, Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental and Applied Solutions. The Biotechnology segment includes the bioprocessing and discovery and medical businesses and offers a range of tools, consumables, and services.