Highland Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,661 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 787 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $7,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Danaher by 3.2% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,231 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Danaher by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 957 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Danaher by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Well Done LLC grew its holdings in Danaher by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $987,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Danaher by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Danaher Stock Down 10.0 %

Danaher stock opened at $223.12 on Thursday. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $223.00 and a twelve month high of $281.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $236.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $253.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.58, a PEG ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.83.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 16.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Danaher from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Danaher from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.14.

Danaher 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.