QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $24.85 Million Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 108,263 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 7,218 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $24,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Danaher Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE DHR opened at $209.27 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $149.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Danaher Co. has a 52 week low of $196.80 and a 52 week high of $281.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $225.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $245.78.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Danaher’s payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total transaction of $1,277,541.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Danaher from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Wolfe Research raised Danaher from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Danaher from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on Danaher in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Danaher currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.00.

About Danaher

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.