Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Cuts Position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 142,189 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,133 shares during the quarter. Danaher comprises 2.4% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $29,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 315,912 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Danaher by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,358,206 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,056,996,000 after purchasing an additional 315,446 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $2,130,740,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Danaher by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,783,485 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,800,614,000 after purchasing an additional 194,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Danaher by 14.3% during the 4th 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. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Up 2.3%

DHR opened at $205.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $147.11 billion, a PE ratio of 39.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $195.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.65. Danaher Corporation 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 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 15.81%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on DHR. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Danaher from $240.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. HSBC reduced their price target on Danaher from $270.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Danaher from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.00.

Insider Activity

In other Danaher news, Chairman Steven M. Rales sold 1,250,000 shares of the company’s 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 owned 3,105,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,036,665.92. This represents a 28.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $3,129,390.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,005,442. The trade was a 51.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

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.