Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Sells 11,157 Shares of Danaher Corporation $DHR

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its position in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,953 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 11,157 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Danaher were worth $982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DHR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,979,503,000. Viking Global Investors LP increased its position in shares of Danaher by 543.9% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,907,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $574,351,000 after acquiring an additional 2,455,994 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP lifted its position in Danaher by 56.2% during the 2nd quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,965,646 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $980,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787,522 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in Danaher by 924.2% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,239,320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $244,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,769,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $12,004,424,000 after purchasing an additional 788,499 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Danaher in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Danaher in a report on Monday, December 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Danaher from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Argus set a $265.00 target price on Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.86.

Danaher Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of DHR stock opened at $210.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.91. Danaher Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $171.00 and a fifty-two week high of $242.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $225.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.16.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.09. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 14.71%.The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. Danaher’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Danaher Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 25.40%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Company Profile

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.