Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Bath Savings Trust Co

Bath Savings Trust Co reduced its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,579 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,260 shares during the quarter. Danaher makes up 1.5% of Bath Savings Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in Danaher were worth $14,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.24.

Danaher Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:DHR opened at $190.38 on Friday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $193.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.13. The company has a market capitalization of $136.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at $3,005,442. This represents a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

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.