MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,751 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total transaction of $245,925,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $3,129,390.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at $3,005,442. This trade represents a 51.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Danaher Stock Down 5.7%

DHR stock opened at $186.50 on Thursday. Danaher Co. has a 52 week low of $171.00 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DHR shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. HSBC decreased their price target on Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.24.

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.