Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $59.43 Million Stock Holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 258,905 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 14,330 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $59,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the 4th quarter valued at $2,130,740,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in shares of Danaher during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,503,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,519,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in Danaher by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,020,865 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $234,340,000 after buying an additional 59,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Danaher in the fourth quarter worth approximately $365,000. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Danaher

In related 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 value of $1,277,541.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,149.90. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Stock Down 2.1 %

Danaher stock opened at $205.69 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 company has a market capitalization of $147.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $214.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.90. Danaher Co. has a twelve month low of $196.80 and a twelve month high of $281.70.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last issued 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on DHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $277.00 target price (down from $299.00) on shares of Danaher in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.24.

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.