Lazard Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,831,034 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 280,408 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up 1.0% of Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.39% of Danaher worth $649,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Danaher

In related news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $189.42 on Monday. Danaher Co. has a 12-month low of $171.00 and a 12-month high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $135.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.88, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $198.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.00.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on DHR. Barclays boosted their price objective on Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.40.

Danaher Profile

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services that advance, accelerate, and integrate the development and manufacture of therapeutics; cell line and cell culture media development services; cell culture media, process liquids and buffers for manufacturing, chromatography resins, filtration technologies, aseptic fill finish; single-use hardware and consumables and services, such as the design and installation of full manufacturing suites; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes, and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.