Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Position Boosted by Nixon Peabody Trust Co.

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. grew its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,715 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $12,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DHR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position 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 acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, EVP Christopher Paul Riley sold 15,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,105,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,036,665.92. The trade was a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of DHR stock opened at $192.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $191.93 and a 200-day moving average of $212.97. The firm has a market cap of $137.49 billion, a PE ratio of 36.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. 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 12 month low of $171.00 and a 12 month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion during 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on DHR shares. Barclays upped their target price on Danaher from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. HSBC lowered their price target on Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Danaher from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.24.

Danaher Company 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.