Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Position in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,931,303 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 637,666 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.70% of Danaher worth $1,128,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 251.0% in the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 59,369 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $13,702,000 after purchasing an additional 42,456 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 110,725 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,347,000 after purchasing an additional 30,692 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Danaher by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,319 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, HFR Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. HFR Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,696 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,774,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DHR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Danaher from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. DZ Bank initiated coverage on Danaher in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $205.00 price target on Danaher in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.14.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of DHR opened at $184.45 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $181.29 and a 200 day moving average of $206.09. Danaher Corporation has a 12 month low of $160.93 and a 12 month high of $242.80. The company has a market capitalization of $130.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.68, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.91% and a net margin of 14.89%.The business had revenue of $5.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. Danaher’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is 30.95%.

Danaher 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.