Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) Shares Bought by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,578,945 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,305 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Danaher were worth $1,051,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter worth about $11,202,000. Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. now owns 3,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 15,876 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,644,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098 shares in the last quarter. Davis Rea LTD. lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 156.3% during the fourth quarter. Davis Rea LTD. now owns 41,428 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $9,521,000 after purchasing an additional 25,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bouchey Financial Group Ltd lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 1,290 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $207.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $224.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.09. Danaher Co. has a 52 week low of $196.80 and a 52 week high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14. Danaher had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.24%.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Danaher in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 target price (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.00.

Danaher Company 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.