Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Sold by Greystone Financial Group LLC

Greystone Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 97.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,015 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 46,795 shares during the quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter worth about $2,130,740,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Danaher by 24,958.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,870,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $383,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863,381 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $391,172,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Danaher by 4,248.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,639,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $376,347,000 after buying an additional 1,601,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Danaher by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,361,183 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,460,215,000 after buying an additional 1,566,658 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Price Performance

Danaher stock opened at $196.13 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $140.36 billion, a PE ratio of 37.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.77. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $171.00 and a one year high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on DHR. Stifel Nicolaus raised Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.74, for a total value of $245,925,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 3,105,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This trade represents a 28.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

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.