Two Sigma Investments LP Increases Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 316.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,027,495 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 780,931 shares during the quarter. Danaher accounts for approximately 0.5% of Two Sigma Investments LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.14% of Danaher worth $235,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Danaher by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,750,122 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,715,641,000 after acquiring an additional 315,912 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Danaher by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,358,206 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,056,996,000 after purchasing an additional 315,446 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,130,740,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Danaher by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,589,019 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,971,609,000 after buying an additional 441,012 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Danaher by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,934,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,821,477,000 after purchasing an additional 992,594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 3,105,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $3,129,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DHR opened at $196.03 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $196.87 and its 200 day moving average is $217.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Co. has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $140.29 billion, a PE ratio of 37.13, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. Research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DHR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.40.

About Danaher

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.