Danaher Corporation $DHR Shares Purchased by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 104.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,333,056 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,216,789 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Danaher were worth $991,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DHR. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Danaher in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DHR. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.35.

Danaher Trading Down 1.7%

DHR opened at $189.69 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Danaher Corporation has a 1-year low of $178.78 and a 1-year high of $242.80.

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

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Danaher’s payout ratio is 31.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gregory M. Milosevich sold 1,320 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.01, for a total value of $274,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,642.99. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.