Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-one have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $249.9167.

DHR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Danaher from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Danaher from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR stock opened at $239.22 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $226.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.94. Danaher has a 52-week low of $171.00 and a 52-week high of $258.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.89.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 14.44%.The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Danaher will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 26.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 21,776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.23, for a total transaction of $4,773,952.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,190,454.19. This trade represents a 59.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 5,174 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.42, for a total transaction of $1,088,713.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,352.50. The trade was a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 30,248 shares of company stock worth $6,609,663 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Danaher

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Danaher by 27.2% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,136 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 1st quarter valued at about $421,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Danaher by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,973 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,020,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 147.8% during the 1st quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,491 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,679 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher’s portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.